A Word from God's Word

“... for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica...”

II Timothy 4:10

WHAT SAD WORDS those are! This is not the first time that we hear of Demas, only the saddest. Earlier, in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he passes on greetings from Demas to the church at Colossae (Colossians 4:14). Even though Paul is imprisoned as he writes the letter, Demas nevertheless stands by. And yet, just a few years later, as Paul pens his second letter to Timothy, there, Paul sadly says that Demas “has forsaken me”.

Why this terrible “about-face”, this abandonment? First, notice that Demas is not merely forsaking Paul but is forsaking Christ. He loves “this present world” more than he loves Christ. In Matthew 13, Jesus offers the “Parable of the Sower”, and he speaks of the seed that falls on thorny ground, where the young plant is choked by the thorns.  That is, “he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful”. (Matt 13:22) Tragically, that is Demas.

This world, with its riches and allurements, beckons to us. But our choice is whether to pursue Christ or the things of the world. Jesus warns, “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). May each one come to Christ by faith, and follow the wisdom of the old hymn, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today”.

Pastor Craig publishes  "A Word from God's Word" weekly in the "Kootenay News Advertiser".