(Philemon 1:12-14) "Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: (13) Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: (14) But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly."
How Great is our God! We sing it. "God is great. God is good."
We pray it. The Word of God expresses it in many different ways. Do
we believe it? Does the truth of that statement carry us in our daily
walk? Does the truth of that statement translate into our hearts and
minds as we encounter situations that our carnal flesh wants to take over? By
that, I mean do we allow our emotions to make decisions rather than lean
heavily upon the statement that our God is Great and He is good?
Paul is saying to Philemon, "I really wanted to keep Onesimus with me. But
I'm sending him back for more than one reason." First, he needs to be
freed from the debt you feel he owes to you. Secondly Philemon, you need to be
freed from the bondage of anger and feeling of being cheated by his running
away." It is apparent and, if we were in that day, it would be
understandable that for all the time Onesimus had been gone, Philemon would
have been filled with anger and a sense of being cheated out of that which he
felt to be rightfully his. Over a period of time, those emotions could easily
have become the driving force in most, if not all, decisions made by Philemon.
Paul was saying to him, "This is for 'thy benefit' to receive him
back." In the next devotion, we will see the manner in which Philemon was to receive
him. But for now, Paul is appealing to his heart to receive him back
willingly. In other words, let go of all the anger and any other feelings that
may have risen out of that anger. Receive him back Philemon for both your
benefits. Be reconciled toward one another.
God is great! God is good! Both men needed to experience the blessing of
reconciliation. The same principle applied to Jacob and Esau. They both needed
to experience reconciliation. Our great God sent Jacob back to Esau for
reconciliation. The greater example is for you and me. We needed to be
reconciled to our God. He sent His Son to this earth to die for our sins. The
offering of His blood to the Father was for our reconciliation. The Father
accepting that offering from Jesus sealed our reconciliation. How Great
is our God!