I was reading the following passage this morning from Philemon:
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Demas was listed as a friend and fellow worker of Paul. The book of Philemon was written in about A.D. 60 from Rome. Paul was in prison. He had a group of loyal disciples who attended to him and helped him in ministry. Demas’ name is listed amongst these faithful ones.
The same year, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Colossians from the same prison cell. In chapter 4, he writes,
14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas
The name, Demas, makes one more appearance in the New Testament — in 2 Timothy. This was written in A.D. 63, just three short years after the book of Colossians. In 2 Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy,
9 Do your best to come to me soon.10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
What a sad ending. Demas was a faithful follow of Jesus — a disciple of the Apostle Paul. Demas left it all. He didn’t finish well. He found that he loved this present world more than the work of the gospel.
I have been actively following Jesus Christ since I was 13 years old. Yesterday I turned 38. That means that I’ve had 25 years of following Jesus. I don’t want to end like Demas. I don’t want the love of the present world to get its tentacles around my heart. God, give me the steadfastness of heart to continue the active pursuit of Jesus. Never let me stray on my journey toward Christ-likeness. May I be a strong and loyal disciple of Jesus!
