“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica…Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:10, 11).
What a contrast! In some of the last words that the Apostle Paul would ever pen, Demas and Mark are contrasted as opposites. Just a few years earlier, Demas had served well. Paul had called him a “fellow-worker (Colossians 4:14). Now he has gone, and whatever his reason might have been, Paul associated it with loving the world. Similarly, John Mark didn’t start off too well. In fact, he deserted the team at Pamphylia and returned home (Acts 13:13). But the final chapters of Mark’s life and ministry did not end with his desertion. Now fully restored and back on the team, Mark was profitable for ministry. As for us today, there is a warning (Demas) and an encouragement (Mark).
For today: Though we have so often failed the Lord, He is awesome in forgiving and restoring, if we submit to Him. John Mark did, and so can you!