“Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica–Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia… At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.” – 2 Timothy 4:9-10, 16a

As we take one final look at 2 Timothy, we are challenged by a harsh reality. Living a radical life of service to Jesus means that we may make enemies. Not only that, but even our close friends may abandon us once they realize the depth of our commitment to Jesus. Nominal Christians scatter when someone decides to go “all-in” for the Kingdom. This truth can often be the hardest obstacle to overcome when faced with the decision to step up in faith and fulfill your calling. We are influenced by our friends, and especially by our friends’ opinions. Are you willing to be seen in a negative light because of your commitment to the truth?

Even heroes of the faith went through times of abandonment. You’d think that people would always be flocking to these great men but it wasn’t the case, especially when they shared the truth of costly discipleship. Every time they shared something that wasn’t pleasant to the listeners, they risked losing their entire audience. But that didn’t deter them. They were eager to share the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Their commitment made them wildly unpopular among anyone who was unwilling to surrender their lives to Jesus. That’s why we see such a watering down of the truth in the church today. No one wants to be “controversial” for fear of hurting church attendance. It’s probably at the top of our “church to-do list,” which is funny, seeing as it didn’t seem that important to Jesus. In the end of John 6, Jesus shared some hard truths and His followers were not too happy about it. The result is one of the saddest verses in the Bible, John 6:66. “From that [time] many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” Even Jesus was abandoned when He got to the “crux” of what He was put on earth to do. When Jesus was arrested, Mark 14:50 tells us, “Then they all forsook Him and fled.” Can you believe that? The same men who shared in His ministry for 3 years, even performed miracles alongside Him, were unable to stick by Him when He needed them the most!

You may encounter this type of rejection when people see that you’re willing to “lay your life down” in order to fulfill the calling on your life. Don’t be surprised by how often you get “BRO-ed” by people who think you should use logic over leading. Paul was one of the most logically illogical people in the Bible. He was willing to be stoned and left for dead, if it meant that he was fulfilling his service to Jesus. I’m sure many of his friends thought he was nuts when he got up, wiped the blood and dust off, and headed back into the city that had just tried to kill him- but it didn’t matter to Paul. What mattered most was that Jesus was standing with Him when he preached, and was chained with him in jail. He knew that he was taking hold of that very thing that Jesus had planned for him when He confronted him on that Damascus road.

Paul’s friends found this world too intoxicating to resist, and what a huge temptation it is for us to shrug off our calling to rather enjoy the creature comforts provided by this world. But there is something far better in store for us. Moses knew it, which is why it says in Hebrews 11 that he “forsook” the comforts of Egypt in order to embrace his calling, “…choosing rather to suffer affliction… than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”  Instead of worrying about being forsaken by the world for our committed belief in Jesus, let’s forsake the fickle embrace of this world for the promise of unconditional acceptance in the next.

 

“But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and [that] all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve [me] for His heavenly kingdom. To Him [be] glory forever and ever. Amen!” – 2 Timothy 4:17-18