Read 1 Samuel 15, Ezekiel 26, and Philemon.
This devotional is about Philemon.
Yesterday, in our reading from Colossians 4, we met a man named Onesimus in Colossians 4:9. In that verse, Paul said that this man Onesimus was coming to the city of Colossae and the church there with a man named Tychicus (see Colossians 4:7-9). Paul described Onesiumus as “our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here” in Colossians 4:9.
If that’s all the New Testament said about Onesimus, we would know that he was a believer, that was from Colossae, that he was serving with Paul, that Paul was sending him back to Colossae, and that his job in coming to Colossae was to fill the church in on Paul’s current circumstances.
But, the book of Philemon, which we read today, tells us that there was a lot more to Onesimus. Here’s what this little book of the Bible tells us about him:
- Philemon was a believer in Christ and a friend of Paul. We see that in verse 1 and verse 7, among others.
- Philemon owned slaves and Onesimus was one of them. We see that in verses 15-16.
- Onesimus, when he was a non-christian, ran away from Philemon. That is suggested, pretty clearly, in verses 12-14.
- Onesimus probably stole something from Philemon before he left. That is suggested in verse 18.
- Somehow, Onesimus got connected with Paul while Paul was in prison in Rome. That is indicated in verses 9-10.
- After meeting up with Paul, Onesimus became a Christian. This is the clear meaning of verse 10 which says, “…I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.”
- Paul wanted to keep Onesimus as part of his missionary team, according to verse 13.
- But, Paul also wanted to do what was right, which required him to send Onesimus back to Philemon who could decide to keep Onesimus as a slave again. We see that in verses 12 and 15.
It could not have been easy for Onesimus to return to Philemon after leaving illegally and (probably) stealing from him. But it was the right thing to do.
It WOULD have been easy for Paul to whitewash the situation and just keep Onesimus on his team. He could just have kept Onesimus with him and kept his mouth shut about him. If Philemon ever found out, Paul could have just said, “Hey, he was unsaved when he ran away and stole from you, Philemon. But, now that he’s a Christian like us, God has forgiven him, so just keep your mouth shut and forget about him.”
Instead of doing the easy thing, Paul and Onesimus did the right thing. Paul sent Onesimus back to own up to what he did, but Paul sent him with a letter explaining the situation and encouraging Philemon to forgive Onesimus (vv. 10-11, 18). Paul also hinted that Philemon should free Onesimus from slavery and send him back to serve with Paul (vv. 13-14, 20-21).
The big lesson in this book is that it is God’s will for his people to reconcile our differences with each other. If you’ve sinned against another Christian, reconciling with him or her involves owning up to your sins against another Christian and seeking forgiveness. If another Christian sins against you, it involves forgiving that Christian when he seeks forgiveness from you.
Reconciliation also requires dealing with the damage caused by our sin. If there is money owed, it must be repaid or forgiven. As a slave, Onesimus probably spent everything he stole from Philemon to finance his escape and stay alive. Paul’s offer in verses 18-19 suggests that Onesimus was unable to pay Philemon what he owed, but he still owed it and that restitution of some kind was necessary for reconciliation to happen.
Again, God wants us to work out our issues with other believers in a biblical way and achieve reconciliation. Too many Christians, though, just leave a church if they have an issue or they just avoid the person instead of addressing the issue.
How about you? Are there any believers in your life that you have unresolved issues with? Maybe you’ve sinned or maybe he or she sinned against you. Maybe you two can’t agree about what happened and who is in the wrong, so you just avoid the problem.
Don’t avoid the problem! Just as God reconciled his issues with us in Christ, seek to resolve your issues with other Christians.