Sharing an article I wrote that is in the current issue of The Lutheran Digest.
2 Timothy 4:9-22 records the last words the Apostle Paul is
known to have written. These verses are contained in a letter to Timothy. At
the time Paul wrote this book, he was imprisoned in a dungeon in Rome, chained
to a wall like a common criminal. He wrote the book for several reasons. He was
concerned about the churches that were being persecuted under Nero and he had
some specific things he wanted to say to the Ephesian church.
But Paul had another, more personal, reason to write this
letter to Timothy.
He was lonely.
He wrote some sad and tender words in verses 9-11 and again
in verse 21. In 9-11 he wrote, “Timothy, please come as soon
as you can. Demas has deserted me
because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens
has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Only
Luke is with me.”
I can just picture it, Luke, the beloved
physician, trying to tend to Paul’s needs to the best of his limited ability.
My father was a physician and I have always pictured Luke like my dad, remaining
steadfast, staying nearby, using his brilliant mind to cure whatever he could
on the aging and ailing Paul. But Luke did not have the medicines or tools my
father had during his lifetime. Still, Luke stayed nearby, doing what he could.
Then in verse 21 we read words that are
some of the most poignant to me in the whole Bible. Paul writes—pleads
actually—"Do your best to get here before winter.” Paul then asked Timothy
to bring a coat and books. His needs were simple, something to keep him warm,
his treasured books, and Timothy to keep him company.
There have been many like Paul through the
years, and still today. If we but look around us we will see the lonely, the ill,
the imprisoned. They don’t ask for much—just the basics, and most of all our
companionship. May God open our eyes to see those for whom we can be a Luke or
a Timothy.
