More thoughts on Philemon!

"Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul - an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus - I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains." Philemon 1:8-10

• Paul says that he COULD be bold & order them to do what is right, but instead he rather appeal to them on the basis of love...Which is of course a brilliant move - He is laying down his rights and entitlements for the sake of "letting love reign". In verses 12-21, he then challenges them to do the same. Even though they have ownership of Onesimus, he asks that they may lay down their rights and accept him back as a brother. Sometimes it gets so easy to label people a certain way- I see it all the time (and I'm very much guilty of it too). It is now the "norm" to leave your trash in the movie theaters, so that the employees can clean it up, because it is "THEIR job"...And for us 'christians' to leave our trash around, so that the custodians can "do their job". Philemon could have easily taken back Onesimus as a slave - he did in fact "belong" to him, so it wouldn't have necessarily been wrong. But God calls us to so much more - He calls us to love one another & treat one another as brothers and sisters, without the all the labels & categories.

"Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me" Philemon 1:11

• This is exactly what occurs when you have an encounter with the power of Christ - It happens ALL THE TIME. God is at work ALL THE TIME redeeming the bad to good - redeeming the useless to become useful. Giving us beauty from ashes. This verse gets me very excited! God has taken the life of this poor & lowly slave and has given it new meaning - Onesimus gets to be USED for God's purposes... As an instrument that becomes useful to the body of Christ! :)

Lord Father,

I thank you for the lessons you teach me each and everyday. Thank you for all the excitement and wonder that I get to participate in. I pray that you continue to reveal yourself to me, as I try my very best to live out my faith. May I continue to drink in deeply your words, so that I will be an overflow of love and encouragement to those around me. Help me to lay down my life for others daily, so that they will know how much YOU truly love them. God, I have so much on my mind...So much to do this weekend. I pray that your shalom covers all my fear & anxiety. Help me to live with YOU as the Lord in my life. I love you Lord! You da bomb! ;)

Some thoughts on Philemon

12.11.08 Devos

"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. 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. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul - an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus - 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."
Philemon 1:4-11

In this short letter to the house church of Philemon, Apphia & Archippus, Paul both exhorts & corrects their behaviors - which is usually the purpose of Paul's letters :) It seems as though there is some "tension" going on about a slave that they used to have named Onesimus, who was taken under the apostle Paul's wing. Paul is now sending Onesimus back to the house church of Philemon...But with a challenge. The challenge to lay down their rights of "ownership" and accept Onesimus back as a brother, instead of a slave.

Random thoughts on this passage:
"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. 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. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 1:4-7

• v.4-5 Thankfulness...Am I thankful? No...I mean, am I truly thankful & excited about every praise report I hear? Is my soul re-ignited when I hear about people showing the love of Christ to one another? Do I remember to regularly pray for those around me?

• v.6 A full understnading of every good thing I have in Christ - oh boy would I be excited to gain that! But there is just too much, how do I even begin to understand something so deep? Paul says that if we are ACTIVE in sharing our faith, we will begin to find that understanding. We need to start living it out BEFORE it makes sense to us, so that in the end it will all make sense :) - Hmmm...that sentance didn't make sense.

• v.7 Love and encouragement - we all need it. We could all use a lot more of it in our lives! God has blessed me beyond measure and so I can honestly say that majority of the time - this joy that I have, I can barely contain it! The best thing about it though, is that when I show my gratefulness to God through my joy, He in turn INCREASES my joy by letting me be a source of love & encouragement to others. They in turn pass on the love & encouragement...and I get it back ten fold. I see the "refrshinging of the saints" happening all around me, on a daily basis. It's a wonderful thing....Almost like a CHAIN REACTION!

***A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. It is a chain of events. Thanks Wikipedia!

to be continued...