Whenever I write an article for Footsteps to Follow, I try to write about something that we normally don’t examine. This time I am writing about a book that most people are probably not very familiar with. At the same time, it is one of the shorter books in the Bible. One of the scriptures called for this week is from the Epistle of Philemon. It was a letter written to a friend of the Apostle Paul. The recipient’s name was Philemon, his wife’s name was Apphia, and Archippus was their son (Philemon 1:1-2).

Prior to the third century, the church met in homes. Philemon hosted one of these churches in his house. Onesimus, who Paul refers to, was a slave who belonged to Philemon but escaped and became affiliated with the Apostle Paul. Some would argue that Philemon was the source of the knowledge that Paul had about the church that met at Philemon’s house. Philemon would have also known the love that Paul had for the saints of the church there.

The Epistle, or letter from Paul, focused on the relationship that Paul had with Onesimus and the love and respect that he had with Philemon. Onesimus assisted Paul in an effort to bridge the broken relationship between Onesimus and Philemon.

Every born-again believer already has the faith of God. We are in Christ Jesus, and there are wonderful things in us in Christ Jesus that are within us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We need to remember that our faith and salvation is not based on what we have done but on what Jesus has done for us.

One of the main reasons that Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon was because he wanted to restore the relationship quickly, since Paul was in prison awaiting possible execution. Paul was appreciative of Onesimus (Colossians 4:9).

Some would argue that troubled times remind us that relationships are the most valuable blessings that we have. Philemon not only received God’s love but shared it with others. Paul was appealing to Philemon’s love for Christ, as well as other people, to have mercy on Onesimus.

Paul states that he was old (Philemon 1:9b). Calculating his age based on what we know about the stoning of Stephen and Paul’s conversion, he would have been roughly 60 years of age. This may also be a reason that Paul wanted to quickly restore the relationship.

It is interesting to note that the Greek name Onesimus meant “profitable.” Paul is saying that in the past, Onesimus was not profitable, but after his rebirth into the Christian faith, he would now be more valuable to Philemon (1:11). It’s important to know that Paul was not trying to get rid of Onesimus; the choice was Philemon’s.

At the same time, without Paul’s letter, it could have been an issue if he did not return Onesimus, since he was still the property of Philemon. The laws gave a lot of leeway to slave owners regarding their slaves. That also does not mean that Paul endorsed slavery, but Paul at the same time was a respecter of the law.

Paul also did one other action to bridge the relationship. We don’t know if Onesimus stole anything from Philemon when he left, but if he did, Paul offered to restore whatever was taken (1:18).

From the way the book of Philemon ends, it appears that the relationship was restored.

Rev. Jim Behrens, retired pastor from Susquehanna Conference United Methodist Church