16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. 2 Timothy 1:16-18

Onesiphorus is not exactly a household name, but he should be. Whereas Paul was indeed a Type A personality, a forceful leader and visionary. Onesiphorus, on the other hand, was probably one of many who followed up or cleaned up after Paul. He probably put Paul’s vision into action on a daily basis.

Of course we hear about Pauls all through our life, but the Onesiphoruses go unnoticed, and much of that is because they don’t want the limelight or glory. They are much more comfortable in the background. We need many more people like Onesiphorus than we do Paul. That’s not to demean Paul in any way. It merely means we need more service-oriented and nose-to-the-grind people than visionaries. If everyone were visionaries and leaders, nothing would get done.

We’ve all known people like Onesipherus. Maybe you’re like him, which is perfectly fine. Keep up the faithful, God-honoring work. It’s tough sometimes when you don’t seem to get credit. The work you do is being noticed. Keep the faith strong and vibrant.