18 May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.

2 Timothy 1:18

The Value of a Life

As a reminder, Onesiphorus (Ὀνησίφορος, Onēsiphoros, “profit bringer”) is an Ephesian friend of Paul who is mentioned only twice, both in 2 Timothy. Verse 18 continues in Paul's commendation and blessing of Onesiphorus.Let's look today more in detail at Onesiphorus's name and ministry to Paul. Onesiphorus's name literally means "profit bringer." It seems clear that Paul was the recipient of many good gifts from Onesiphorus. Not gifts of material things, but of immaterial. Not gifts of gold, trinkets or toys but instead he brought the profit of friendship, the profit of courage, the profit of perseverance. Onesiphorus lived up to his name because he was giving himself away to Paul in Jesus's name.I attended a funeral in college of a friend who had passed away in a car accident. It was horrible, but the service was beautiful. Story after story was told of her life and how she lived for Jesus and served others every chance she got. The pastor stood up at the end of the service and said this,

"I hope you never forget what you heard today. The value of a life is always measured by how much of it you gave away. And today we are reminded that we never know how much time we have to give our lives away."

In verse 18, Paul blesses Onesiphorus again and reminds Timothy of how he ministered to him at Ephesus. The word minister is the Greek word "διακονέω" (diakoneo) where we get the word "Deacon." Diakoneo can really be translated "minister or serve." So, when we speak of ministering to people, ultimately it is a call to serve them and love them like Jesus.Today, how can you give your life away? Today, how can you give the gift of service to someone? May we give our lives away for the glory of God and the good of people, as we never know how much time we have to give our lives away.