Philemon 1 : From Useless to Useful

Verse 11: Once he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

Verse 12: I am sending him - who is my very heart - back to you.

◇ Believing in Jesus means transforming from a useless person to a useful one. When we put down our old thoughts and actions and are reborn as new people through faith in Jesus, we can't help but become useful.

Paul, while in prison, met and converted Onesimus, a fellow prisoner. Onesimus was a runaway slave. Paul sent him back to his master with a letter.

The idea of a runaway slave voluntarily returning to his master is unimaginable. Roman law stated that if a runaway slave was caught, they would face severe punishment, and anyone who harbored them would be fined. Runaway slaves had to be returned to their masters. This law was based on the view that slaves were the property of their owners. A runaway slave would never willingly return to their master unless they were forcibly taken by a slave hunter.

What would you do if you were Onesimus? Would you go back to your master? If you were the master, how would you treat a returning runaway slave? Would you welcome them like the father in the parable of the prodigal son? If you were Paul, would you tell the runaway slave to return to their master?

Paul sent the runaway slave back. Onesimus, the runaway slave, voluntarily returned. Philemon, the master, accepted the returning Onesimus as a brother. Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus all had one thing in common: they were people who had encountered Jesus and become Christians. They had shed their old selves and become new people. They had transformed from useless to useful individuals.

Because of this, they were able to demonstrate trust and courage that others could not imagine. Their trust and courage allowed them to restore broken relationships. They could believe, seek forgiveness, forgive, accept one another, and start anew.

♧ Lord, help us not to forget that through Christ we have become useful instead of useless! Help us to live a life worthy of being useful! Holy Spirit, guide us in truth!