He
Has Become Useful
Both
To You And To Me
Therefore, although in
Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer
to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man
and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly
he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him—who is
my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he
could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I
did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do
would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was
separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—
no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very
dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the
Lord.
Philemon
1:8-16
Philemon had a choice to
make: He could treat Onesimus as his slave or welcome
him as a brother in Christ.
It is easy to allow the
walls of our socio-economic status, class or cultural differences to separate
us. The gospel of Christ removes those barriers, changing our lives and our
relationships forever.
The
gospel changes people and relationships.
Our
Daily Bread – September 17, 2017