Things Can Change
The man runs with fervor hoping to escape his captors. His breath is heavy as he runs hard and seeks to find a place of refuge. After years of living in servitude, he is done. The penalty for being a runaway slave may be death, but he has to take that chance. Freedom is imperative to him – so much so that he steals money from his master in order to expedite his getaway.
His journey takes him many miles from all that is known and familiar. He has no friends or family to rely on. How is he going to manage to build a safe life somewhere else?
Unknown to him at the time is the fact that God has a plan for him. He is not on his own, but is being watched by his loving Heavenly Father all the time. As he runs with no clear direction, God has his steps planned already. God leads him right to the Apostle Paul. As Onesimus tries to figure out his life, Paul is there to guide him, even though Paul is a prisoner.
Onesimus’ life is forever changed after interacting with Paul who shares the Gospel message with him. Onesimus because a believer in Jesus Christ and turns his life around. He becomes a great help to Paul; so much so that Paul wants to keep him with him.
There is something that Onesimus must deal with first. As a Christian he needed to make restitution for the wrong he had done to his former owner. He knew that he would have to go back to Philemon and face whatever consequences there may be.
Onesimus will not face Philemon alone. Paul sends a letter ahead to the slave owner, asking him to give Onesimus grace rather than condemnation. While Paul can only suggest and not dictate, I am sure the words of the great apostle carried much weight to Philemon.
Paul tells Philemon the following –
“Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good—no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” (Philemon verses 15-16 NIV)
Paul goes even further as to offer restitution himself to compensate for whatever Onesimus might have stolen. There is no doubt of his deep care for Onesimus. Paul loves him as a dear brother in Christ.
When we have Christ as the center of our lives, our perspective changes. We want to do what is right and hopefully make up for past indiscretions as much as possible. It’s hard to do though. We don’t want to go back to people we have wronged and apologize and take steps to heal the rift. Yet we are called to do so when we say we are following Jesus.
Onesimus is a great example of the life changing effects of a saving faith in Jesus Christ. There are many lost Onesimus types in our world who are waiting to hear the saving news of the Gospel. Perhaps there is an Onesimus character in your life who needs to hear about Jesus’ great love for us and the sacrifice that He made for us to obtain salvation.
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