DEMAS WAS A good worker, and Paul appreciated his help. When he wrote to Philemon, he mentioned faithful Demas (Philemon 24). When he sent an epistle to the Christians in Colossae, Paul again named Demas -right beside Doctor Luke (Colossians 4:14).
But Demas had a problem. A memory problem. He kept forgetting about the world to come. Of course Demas wanted heaven. Later. He just wanted what this world had to offer, too. Now. And in the end good old Demas forgot about later. “Demas has forsaken me,” Paul literally wrote. “He loved the Now Age” (II Timothy 4:10).
“NOW! NOW! NOW!” One sees it written across our society in psychedelic colors. There is nothing wrong with a soft drink having a “now taste.” Even the “now generation” of young adults promises far more than it threatens The problem is that like Demas, many of God’s people are swapping heaven later for the Now Age now.
Christ’s people give up their citizenship rights in world-in order to claim it in one to come (Philippians 3:18-20). Yet they should be the finest residents of the *low Age. God’s grace has appeared, and has brought them salvation. That grace teaches them to live responsible, righteous and godly lives — now. But that is not the end of the passage. “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” Paul continues (Titus 2:11-15).
The child of God doesn’t expect a reward here for faithfulness. He does have a blessed hope of happiness forever when this world is gone.
Don’t sacrifice eternity for the Now Age. You’ll always regret that. Demas did. And that is why the story of Demas is one of the saddest stories in all the New Testament. How will your story read?