Paul said: “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica.”
2Timothy 4:10. Tracking down Demas in Thessalonica could be a bit of a
problem. Maybe he has a suite on Wall Street. He is on-the-tear from
morning to night. He is so busy. His schedule is jammed packed full.
But assuming he could find it in his heart to sacrifice 15 minutes of
his valuable time to grab a coffee with you, he would probably tell you
about his hectic schedule, his business plans, strategic directions,
goals and objectives, the stress of it all, a get-a-way Mediterranean
cruise, his latest idea, and a recent purchase he made. He would seem
enthused, pumped and keen. He might mention his attendance at the
prayer meeting last night.

The thought crosses your mind that
Demas could be on the right track after all. “Maybe I should be more
focused and doing something with my life. Being a success and making a
name for myself. I am sort of embarrassed when I meet college friends
and they ask me what’s ‘happening.’ I don’t seem to have much of a life
outside of my spiritual life.”

Then you tell Demas: “Your good
old friend Paul, is expecting to die for Christ at any moment. He was
really let down when you deserted him. It took alot out of him.” For a
moment Demas stares off into the distance. Is he having a flashback?

…….. Happy. On fire for the Lord. Enthused. Helping. Working.
Enjoying. Living for one thing. Involved. Contributing. Encouraging
others. Sharing the Gospel. Reading and getting something out of it.
Really praying and getting through. Christ was everything to me back
then …….

Then he shifts his position, crosses a leg, regains his composure, the
tear in his eye subsides and he thinks about his next appointment and
everything else that’s important to him in this world. The tangibles.
The temporal. The here and now. Materialism. The urgent demands of
today. It’s time to run now. The little chat is over.

What a loss! The greatest tragedy in life is for a sinner to die without Christ. The 2nd greatest tragedy is for a christian to die cold to Christ.
Colossians 3:1 says SEEK the things that are above and then it adds –
‘where Christ is’. Verse 2 urges us to SET our affections on things
above – not on things on the earth.