May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. (2 Tim. 1:16)
Expanded Passage: 2 Timothy 1:15-18
Washington, DC, is a city of monuments, but one that is largely overlooked is a memorial to sailors in the Merchant Marine Corps who fell in World War I. The inscription is gripping. It announces that the memorial is dedicated to those who were “Great without Glory.”
That describes Paul’s friend Onesiphorus perfectly. Few of us would think to name him as a New Testament hero, but that’s what he was to the apostle Paul. In more than one passage in this letter, Paul mentions former colleagues who deserted him when he was arrested and imprisoned. Onesiphorus never wavered. We’re not told the details, but we know that he put himself at risk to be of help to Paul and to advance the gospel. He was “great without glory.”
The same could be said of other coworkers Paul salutes in his letters—lesser-known names like Aristarchus, Epaphroditus, Tychicus, and many more. That shouldn’t surprise us. Christ has always had countless followers who are better known in heaven than on earth. It’s fine if our names never make it into history books, as long as we’re in the book that counts—the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 21:27).
Collectively, if not individually, ordinary people like us become world-changers by serving our extraordinary Lord.
Let the glory go to God.
Bob Black is a third-generation Wesleyan minister and professor emeritus of religion at Southern Wesleyan University (SC).
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
