The little book of Philemon is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It was written by Paul to a Christian named Philemon (hints the name). But it was written about a man named Onesimus. When you read the short letter you gather a few things about this situation. First off, Philemon was a member of the church at Colossae (Col. 4:9; Phil. 10). Second, Onesimus was a slave of Philemon’s who had runaway and perhaps even stolen some things that belonged to Philemon (Phil. 15-18). Third, we see that Paul had met Onesimus in his travels and converted him to Christ (Phil. 10).
Now the message of the letter is one that gets right to the heart of the title of this article: forgiveness. Paul sends Onesimus back to Colossae to make things right with Philemon, and to be a part of the church in Colossae. And in Onesimus’ hand were two letters, the letter of Colossians and the letter to Philemon. Inside this letter to Philemon was a plea for forgiveness to this runaway slave, Onesimus. Paul said in verse 17, “Accept him as you would me.” Then in verse 18, “if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.” Paul’s plea to Philemon is to forgive this new brother in Christ and accept him into the church.
There are many Christians who have been wronged by other Christians. And it can be easy to hold on to that resentment forever, even after they’ve apologized and tried to make things right. But it is equally as hard to go ask for forgiveness. There are two main applications for is in this book. First, if you have wronged someone then it is time to make it right. It’s time to make the trip to Colossae and plea for the forgiveness that Christians ought to have for each other. It is time be like Onesimus and make it right. Second, if you have been wronged then it is time to forgive. It’s time to let go of the anger. It’s time to move forward with a heart of compassion and mercy for a brother/sister in Christ. It’s time to be like Philemon and forgive.
- Kolton Ballance
