"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." ~Paul
Nestled between the letters to Titus and Hebrews is a jewel of a letter to a man named Philemon. It's twenty five verses are packed with drama. It's an appeal of an old man in prison to the master of a runaway slave. A slave he considered his very heart. The slave had escaped and was going to head back to his master Philemon voluntarily. I can imagine the tumultuous thoughts of Onesimus as he made the decision to return to an unknown reception. It must have given him great comfort to have this little letter to give to his master.
The letter was addressed not only to Philemon but to Apphia, Archippus and the church that met in their home. This family loved the saints and they had been a great joy and encouragement to Paul and so had Onesimus. Paul appeals to that love. One of the good things we have in Christ is our brothers and sisters and the slave had become part of the family. I can imagine how surprised this small house church must have been when Onesimus showed up!
"For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free- and were all given the one Spirit to drink." ~Paul
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