Walking With Jesus (Repentance)Uzorak

Useful person

The name Onesimus means "useful person". However, it was not so in the beginning for Philemon, a member of the congregation who was quite prominent in the Colossian church. The reason was that Onesimus was Philemon's slave who may have stolen from him and fled (Philemon 1:18).

It seemed that Paul brought Onesimus to believe in God in Rome, discipled him, and sent him back to Colossae with Tychicus to take some letters with him. One of those letters was Colossians, a letter to the believers there. The other letter was a personal letter to Philemon, advising the master to accept Onesimus as a Christian brother. Philemon seems to have obeyed Apostle Paul's counsel.

Many historians estimate that Onesimus was the same Onesimus who worked as a shepherd of Ephesus. Ignatius, one of the early church fathers, called Onesimus "a man of extraordinary love".

We may know someone we consider "useless" because of his bad or dark past. Sometimes, we even stay away from that person because we are afraid of his past. Paul has proven that all people with diverse past lives are useful for God's work. An encounter with God can change that person. God was even able to make him a person who served God for the rest of his life. Regardless of their past lives, people who have repented and changed are beloved brothers and sisters who still have the potential to glorify the Father.

Reflection:

1. Today, do you feel like Onesimus – someone with a dark past who repented and was used by the Lord? Or do you feel like Philemon - someone God used extraordinarily in the church?

2. Which attitude do you often show, fearing someone with a dark past, or helping that person be useful to God?

Practice: Let’s see people the way Christ sees them - as sinners who need to be saved and become beloved brothers and sisters with great potential to minister after being saved.