I’ll have to be honest. I really struggled with Philemon until I read the commentary and background. I found out the Philemon had a slave named Onesimus who had run away, hooked up with Paul, became a Christian and wanted to go back to confront his master—Philemon. At first I thought there was nothing in Philemon, but then I got to thinking about the message Paul was trying to convey. How often has one of our Christian brethren wronged us or disappointed us? And how often have we failed to forgive them or held a grudge? Philemon could have had Onesimus killed him, but Paul was asking Philemon to honor Onesimus as a fellow believer, and forgive Onesimus. Whew, that can be tough, but allowing division (holding a grudge or unwillingness to forgive) breaks the unity within the Christian body of believers. Being divided allows Satan to win. Think about it. Win one for the good guys. Do you need to get with someone and forgive them?
