“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.”  Philemon 4

Tucked away neatly among the Apostle Pauls’ letters in the New Testament is his sweet letter to his friend Philemon. His name means “affectionate,” and apparently he was true to his name because Paul describes him as “our beloved friend and fellow laborer.”

The letter was sent to Philemon, our dear friend, to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church meeting in their home.  Most Bible scholars believe Apphia was Philemon’s wife and Achippus their son.  What a beautiful picture of this family unit!  They were all working together to further the witness of Christ in the world!  Philemon was a man of means who owned slaves and had a house large enough for the church to meet.  As the believers met to worship, they were all one in Christ.  Rich and poor, male and female, master and slave, all were members of the body of Christ and the family of God.  When they returned to their working world, they went forth to witness.

The purpose of Paul’s letter was to plead for his “son in the faith, Onesimus” who had run away from his master Philemon.  Under Roman law, this was an act punishable by death.  One of the delights in studying scripture is to see the miraculous ways God shows Himself in the circumstances of our life, and it can’t be explained as coincidence or chance.  First, Paul led Philemon to the Lord in Colosse, a city in Asia Minor, then Paul was arrested and taken to Rome for prison and trial.  Philemon’s slave had run away and made his way to Rome.  Somehow he met Paul and committed his life to Christ.  Master and slave had been born again through the same preacher, but in vastly different places.  Was that a coincidence?  Nothing is too hard for our heavenly Father!

Then Paul sent Onesimus back to make restitution to his master.  Now that Onesimus was a believer, it was necessary to make things right with his employer.  Salvation removes the penalty and power of sin, but it does not cancel debts.  The new Christian is expected to settle all accounts and make right wrongs they committed.  Philemon was not only getting Onesimus back, he was getting more than a slave, a beloved brother in the Lord.  It has been said that in New Testament times, Christian slaves commanded a higher price on the market than others.  The slave who was returning to Philemon was a better slave than the one who had run away!  Paul asks Philemon to receive him as he would the apostle himself and Paul is willing to accept all responsibility for any loss Philemon may have sustained and to put it on his account!

In my mind’s eye, I see the aging apostle Paul in chains, under house arrest, dictating this letter to his helpers and signing with his own hand.  I wonder how many hours this man of God prayed for those who were responsible for the care of the believers in Colosse.  What a comfort for Philemon to know Paul was praying for him!  I have the privilege of visiting a dear friend in his 90’s and now in a nursing home.  As I prepare to leave, he asks if he can pray for me.  When he finishes his prayer, I feel so refreshed.  What a blessing to know that I am lifted to the throne of grace by this beloved servant of the Lord!  “I thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,” Philemon 4.

Your friend, Jean