Philemon who?  Onesimus who?  The smallest book in the bible has no need for chapter numbers because it only has 25 verses.  It is a personal letter that Paul wrote while in prison to a man named Philemon.

Philemon was a wealthy and influential man in the town of Colossae located in the country that is now Turkey.  He and his wife led a dynamic church in their home.  It is believed that Philemon first heard the gospel when Paul preached in Ephesus, where he received the gospel, afterward becoming a co-worker with Paul. They had a rich history of friendship and ministry, and Paul considered him a trusted friend and spiritual son.

Philemon owned a house slave who stole something from him and ran away.  His name was Onesimus, which means “useful” or “valuable”.  By events that only God can orchestrate, the fugitive slave found himself imprisoned next to Paul, where Paul led Onesimus to the Lord.

Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon carrying this letter that became the Book of Philemon in the bible.  In it, he asks Philemon to receive his former slave, forgive him, and be restored as a fellow believer and brother.  At that time, a Roman slave who ran away could be put to death.  But Paul said that Philemon should not only forgive Onesimus; but also love him as a brother returning home.

Traditional church history says that Onesimus served Christ faithfully the remainder of his life, becoming the church bishop at Ephesus after Timothy’s death, and died a martyr’s death.

So why is this short personal letter so important that Holy Spirit included it in the bible?

I would say it’s because this short letter sums up the gospel message beautifully by giving us a picture of God’s redeeming love, forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, and giving lives a new purpose.

Sound familiar?  Even though I don’t think the names Philemon and Onesimus have ever been mentioned in our HBH publications or conferences, their story illustrates the intent and purpose of our HBH ministry.

I believe there’s also another message in this story that requires a deeper look through the eyes of a humble heart.

In our churches, various ministries, and Christian outreach organizations, sometimes the passion and enthusiasm to “get the job done” sometimes gets us into situations where differences of opinions on HOW to get the job done makes us act more like wild goats rather than Jesus’ sheep; butting heads, lashing out wildly, and making a loud unappealing noise as described in I Corinthians 13:1.

Everyone has been offended and everyone has offended someone else at one time or another.  All of us have been wounded or felt betrayed by someone, or have at some time betrayed and wounded someone else.

Onesimus’ betrayal was that he stole something of value from his master.  We aren’t slaves, and we haven’t stolen physical items, but we may be guilty of theft of another kind.  Perhaps we have stolen someone’s good name and influence by gossip and working behind their back.  Perhaps we have taken actions that obstructed or blocked  someone else’s plans or ministry attempt, or even “killed” their enthusiasm and desire to continue in ministry.

That is a very dangerous path to be walking!

Unity and Diversity of Opinions Do Not Have to Be Opposites.

Diversity of ideas and abilities are a gift from God, and are necessary for excellence in ministry.  Unity is necessary to please God and bear His fruit.  Unity means respecting and using the diversity within your group to the glory of God, loving each other and listening to each other respectfully, giving value to all ideas, in a way that blends all those ideas into a beautiful finished product after throwing aside what distracts from the goal.  I said throw aside, not throw away, because an idea that’s not right for the present moment may be an asset later or in another setting.

Leaders:  Are you raising up others to lead by your example, giving them respect, encouragement, and drawing out their God-given abilities?  Or are you driving away the very people God has placed before you to be co-ministers to fulfil His calling on your life because of self-will, stubbornness and pride?  Jesus’ example of leadership is one of humility and serving.

Co-ministers:  Are you exhibiting the character of Jesus as you organize and work together?  Or are you inhibiting the effectiveness of the ministry because you feel you must stand your ground because a decision has been made that is in opposition to what you personally want?

Perhaps all of you, Leaders and Co-ministers alike, should ponder this question:

Are your determined actions based on perseverance (a good character quality praised in scripture) or are you operating out of stubbornness (a bad character quality that scripture lumps together with a hardened heart)?

I find it interesting that in Philemon’s story, God considers both parties equally responsible for reconciliation even though only one of them stole.  God is showing us that even if we’re the person who has been sinned against, we are just as responsible to be part of the sacrificial reconciliation.

Christian sisters, we need to wake up to the fact that when we have unresolved “issues” and contention with our sisters in the faith, we have a heart problem.   We have a humility problem.  We have a pride problem.

God’s Word tells us what to do about this.  Matthew 5:23-26 tells us that God won’t receive our offerings- which show our level of commitment to Him – until we reconcile with our sisters with whom we are at odds.

We may be the one who has been mistreated, but we are responsible for how we respond to that, and are required to make a sacrifice in order for our offender to be restored.

That sacrifice is laying down our “rights”, our “wants” and our “offences” at the feet of Jesus.  

Having laid down everything at Jesus’ feet, we make the attempt to reconcile.  That doesn’t have to mean that we give up our ideas and insights to give in to another person’s will.  God has given every person free will, so you may try with all your heart, allowing Holy Spirit to guide you, but the problem may not be resolved because the other person chooses not to reconcile. That is on them, not you.  That may happen because…

Sometimes the power structure is out of balance.

Sometimes people take ownership of what is God’s, not theirs.

Sometimes our passion and desire to be used blinds us to what God desires from us and others.

God is the only One who knows every heart involved, and the only One who sees the big picture of what He is doing.

This is where HUMILITY comes in.

Until we recognize that our insistence to have our own way is based on arrogance, God will not choose to be the mediator of reconciliation. (“… God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble…”  James 4:6, I Peter 5:5)

Humility is the first criteria for being able to accurately hear Holy Spirit’s voice and discern God’s will.

I love how Paul approaches his request to Philemon.  He tells us that his status and rank gives him the right to demand, but he makes the request in humility as a friend so that Philemon can experience the joy of willingly acting in kindness and showing grace while giving up his right to make demands of Onesimus.

This is the beauty of how God works!  God’s heart has always been about love, forgiveness and reconciliation since the days in the Garden of Eden.  Without Holy Spirit working through Paul to restore the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus, what would have happened?

Philemon still would have been missing what was stolen from him, missing a household worker, and possibly have grown a hardened heart, missing the opportunity to grow his faith and reap joy.

Onesimus would have been imprisoned or put to death without ever knowing Christ, without ever fulfilling his destiny, and without eternity with God.

This is the goal of every ministry:  that our labor would bear the fruit of adding souls to the family of God.  We can’t afford to be cavalier about how we conduct business because someone’s soul may hang in the balance.

So, as we face “troubled waters” within our  family, church and ministry circles, we focus on Jesus and meditate on this scripture, Colossians 3:23-

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others.

In everything we do, we picture the face of Jesus so that our focus is always on bringing delight to His beautiful face by our words and deeds.

Verse 25 also makes this point:  God will repay us for what we do, paying no attention to titles or prestige.

Father, align our hearts with your heart as humble servants that we may do your will in a way that delights You and brings glory to You.