Sunday Reading: Philemon 1:10-16
Key Verse: Philemon 1:14
14 But without your consent I was willing to do nothing, that your good should not be of necessity, but willingly.
Devotion:
Onesimus was, at one time, Philemon’s slave or servant. At some stage he ran away from Philemon; why, we are not told. But Onesimus then ended up being in the same prison as Paul and it was there that he was lead to The Lord, finding out the truth about God from Paul whilst in prison and then obviously recounting part of his life to Paul too. It is not said in what capacity Onesimus was there but soon Paul directed him to go back to Philemon as a helper and no longer as a slave.
Being a slave to someone or something means that you have to do what you do because you do not have any choice about it. You have to do whatever is required of you and you do not have any say in how or why things are done. Paul now saw a dramatic change in Onesimus and wanted him to go back to Philemon willingly with his blessing hoping that Philemon would take him back as a brother in Christ and not as a slave. The choice was obviously Philemon’s because that was the law, but Paul was quite sure that he could do so much more for Philemon now that he was a willing, eager worker for God.
When we show that sort of change to others, be it our parents or our employers, we will show them that we are willing to do what God wants us to do – be honest and work effectively. If we do have the chance to show them in some way that we do it because of our faithfulness to God then they may well be encouraged to find out what is so important to us in our lives. We don’t have to force God’s Word down anyone’s throat in order for them to want to know about God, we can simply show others how much He means to us and allow them to wonder at His love and grace that allows us to do what we do.
Points to Ponder:
Do you work for God?
Do others know you work for God?
