Philemon 1:10-12
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
Tag: God Makes Us Useful
Onesimus is the name of a run-away slave. He was, apparently captured and imprisoned. He “cell-mate” was the Apostle Paul. Like anyone in Paul’s present, he was about to hear the gospel. Upon hearing he was converted to Christianity. Onesimus may have been a prisoner of the government through fault, but now he was a prisoner of Christ, through faith.
Paul, in turn, writes a letter to the former slave owner of Onesimus: Philemon. He implores Philemon to take Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother:
Philemon 1:15-16
For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
This is what God does to us. He changes us. When we were once broken and damaged (runaway slaves that had stollen from and damaged past relationship), God restores us and makes us what He wants. The name Onesimus actually means “useful.” But, until Onesimus met Christ he was only useful in name. Now he is useful. Christ takes our original state and changes us. We become useful for him. Our past is our past. When we mix His words with faith He changes us. The book of Philemon is about a changed life.
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