“May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment.” – 2 Timothy 1:16

There are people that I will never forget because of their acts of kindness and thoughtfulness to me.

I am pretty sure that you have them too in your life – people who have always been there for you and have selflessly stood by you, even when they had no reason to.

We all have such people, don’t we, and boy, how thankful we are to God that He enabled us to meet them.

Indeed, some were like angels who came specifically to be there for us during that particular season and then disappeared never to be seen again.

Some of them have remained loyal friends who have stuck with us through thick and thin over the years and doing their best to be a blessing in different ways.

Our Lord Jesus had them too – most of them women – who stuck by Him throughout until the last day (see Mark 15:40-41).

The apostle Paul had such benevolent partners too and he never forgot to keep mentioning them in his prayers and letters.

In our meditation today, the apostle Paul writes in commendation of one of them in particular, a certain brother who was appropriately named Onesiphorus.  

In Greek, the name ‘Onesiphorus’ means ‘one who brings help’ or ‘help bringer.’

Brother Onesiphorus was not a preacher per se but he never got tired of “refreshing” Paul and helping him in “many ways.”

He stood by him even when it was very risky for a Christian to do so to a prisoner of the ferocious Roman regime.

The Bible teaches that caring for, supporting and refreshing God’s servants wherever they are is every believer’s responsibility (see Galatians 6:6).

Paul needed support – a lot of ‘refreshing’ – and Onesiphors was willing to be there to “minister to him” during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and also during the darkest moments of his life when he was a prisoner in Rome.

The next verses say that Onesiphorus “sought me out very zealously and found me.”

He could have given a very good excuse, but no, he simply had to find Paul by whatever means, which was extremely risky by the way given that Paul was a heavily guarded prisoner of the State.

Bible scholars say that Onesiphorus had died by the time of writing this epistle but the apostle still went ahead to pronounce an apostolic blessing on the dear brother’s family for what he did for him. 

By “often” and “in many ways” helping and refreshing God’s servant, Onesiphorus had contributed to his legacy and etched his name in Bible history.

To what extent can we be described as believers who often use our resources to “refresh” God’s servants?

As most Christians are well aware, faithful ministry is never easy at all and all God’s servants constantly need physical, financial, emotional and spiritual refreshment from the people of God.

The Bible teaches that caring for, supporting and refreshing God’s servants wherever they are is every believer’s responsibility (see Galatians 6:6).

Rather than merely putting all the focus on accumulating material things in the name of leaving an inheritance for our children, God is calling on us to be like Onesiphorus whose household partook of the legacy that lasts because he offered to contribute to Paul’s ministry so as to further the kingdom of God.

If you hadn’t yet, you too can choose to be an ‘Onesiphorus’ from today.

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you for the opportunity to be a useful and profitable source of refreshment to those who serve Christ. Help me to build your kingdom and thus leave a spiritual legacy in the next generation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!