Philemon 9-10, 12-17
I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
This is an interesting look into the early Church. Paul is writing to Philemon, a Christian friend of his, concerning one of Philemon’s slaves, Onesimus, who had escaped and run off to Rome, where Paul was coincidentally being held prisoner. Paul is asking Philemon, not demanding (though Paul had every authority to do so) if Philemon would accept Onesimus back to his home in love. Roman law back then allowed masters to have total control over their slaves. And much of the time if they ran away, they were tracked down and killed for it. Paul doesn’t care about social classes and boundaries. Onesimus had become a Christian, and to Paul that made Philemon and Onesimus brothers and he was calling them to see each other in that light.
As our culture continues to grow out of racism and into a better way of thinking, remember that, as Christians, we are called to reach out to people even beyond class, race, stations in life, and each others brokenness. We are all made in the image and likeness of God. And therefore equal to each other. As Christians, treating our fellow Christians like our brothers and sisters should be a top priority. But too often we see Christians tearing each other down, hurting each other, gossiping and holding onto grudges.
Let’s welcome and love each other as we would Christ.