Philemon is a short book in the Bible, but is jam packed with good stuff. Let me set this up … It was written by Paul to a guy named Philemon who was living in a town called Colossae. Paul and Philemon had a mutual acquaintance, Onesimus. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon’s who ran away and met up with Paul in Rome while Paul was under house arrest. Under Paul’s teaching, Onesimus became a Christian.
Now Paul had this teaching that says (Ephesians 6:5), “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” So after Onesimus becomes a Christian it is natural that he should go back and make amends with his earthly master that he had wronged. Understandably, Onesimus is a little hesitant to do this so Paul sends a letter on ahead to soften up Philemon and let him know what is going on in Onesimus’ life.
Here’s some great lines that Paul wrote to Philemon: v6, “I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.” v8-9, “That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do. But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you.” v17-19, “So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it. And I won’t mention that you owe me your very soul!“
Do you detect any truthful sarcasm there? I think it’s great the way Paul is approaching it, and Philemon really has no choice but to accept Onesimus back as an equal and a brother.
Here’s what all this means to us; this story is a great word picture of God’s redemption plan for us. Philemon represents God, Paul represents Jesus, and Onesimus is you. You have wronged God and ran away, but when you meet up with Jesus He goes to God on your behalf and says “If he has wronged you in any way, charge it to me. I will repay it.” Jesus acts as your mediator to smooth things over between you and God. And as a result God accepts us as children into His family. We no longer need to run or hide in fear, but can confidently approach God because of the love of Jesus.
Pretty cool, huh? If you aren’t livin’ the Jesus life, I encourage you to come on over. There’s plenty of room in God’s family.
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