Onesiphorus’ Good Deed

“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me – may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day! – and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.”
2 Timothy 1:16-18

Paul wrote to Timothy and mentioned to him about this kind-hearted person named Onesiphorus. Paul was impressed by Onisephorus’s good deed and said what he did “often refreshed me”. Imagine after a long day under the hot sun, how refreshing it can be if we have someone bringing us a cold towel to wipe away our sweaty face and cool us down; this is exactly how Paul felt when Onesiphorus helped him each time.

Paul went through hardship, was persecuted, faced false accusation, was imprisoned and sometimes went without food. In the midst of such difficult times in life, Onesiphorus appeared with a cold towel. He came to Paul and offered him words of encouragement and got involved in the works of the ministry. He also visited Paul in prison and was dedicated in everything he did. For all he did, it can only be Jesus who can reward him for all the good deeds he did, and the reward will be handed down during the day of judgement.

We need people like Onesiphorus, people who are not selfish but are willing to dedicate themselves to support the works of good people. Indeed, we should offer our support to our fellow human beings who are doing good for the society by offering words of encouragement, raise their morale so that they can raise their bar and do even better in order to uphold common interest.

As Christians, besides doing good, we should also be supportive of the activities of those who are doing good, especially those working in remote and dangerous areas where volunteers are hard to come by. People may not have recognized what we do but our God certainly has, and on that very day, He will prepare the rightful reward for us.