Great Encouragement

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. ~ Philemon 1:7

Do you refresh people?  Do you make them feel good when they leave your presence?  Are you quick to help others?  Are you generous?  Philemon was a wealthy man who lived in Colossae and who became a follower of Christ through Paul’s ministry.  He often held church gatherings in his own home and helped out financially to others whenever he could and word of his encouragement made its way to Paul’s ears while Paul was still in a Roman prison.  Intent on encouraging Philemon to continue in his faith and growth, Paul writes to Philemon to tell him how proud he is of him and to keep up the good work.  Like most wealthy landowners, Philemon had slaves and one of his slaves was in trouble and in need of forgiveness and Paul wanted to encourage Philemon to treat his slave with the same kindness he gave to others in hopes that Philemon would be quick to forgive Onesimus.  An escaped slave of Philemon, Onesimus had gone to Rome and sought Paul out at the prison he was held at and became a follower of Jesus under Paul’s mentorship.  The slave wanted to reconcile with Philemon and Paul decided to write a letter to Philemon on Onesimus’ behalf pleading for the same love, kindness and generosity he has shown to others.  Paul considers Philemon a dear friend and brother in Christ, so I am sure he had to know Philemon would take his request sincerely.  The book of Philemon ends without us not knowing if Philemon took Onesimus back; however, most bible scholars agree that Philemon not only took him back with open arms, but went a step further and freed him as his slave.  In verse 21, Paul writes, “Confident of your obedience, I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I ask.”  This one verse leads many to believe Philemon freed Onesimus as his brother in Christ now and no longer a slave.  At the core of this verse is love, encouragement, support and forgiveness.  Philemon, refreshed Onesimus’ soul when he could have held anger and resentment against him and made his life really hard.  May we be as refreshing to others as Philemon was. ~ Amen