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Paul Asked for Forgiveness of Onesimus

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(Philemon 1:17-18)

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.

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In a place called Colosse, a man named Philemon lived.
This man was very rich so he had many slaves.

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One day, Paul was telling the gospel and by chance Philemon heard Paul.
At that moment, the Holy Spirit opened the heart of Philemon so he accepted Jesus. Philemon was very thankful to Paul for telling the gospel to him.

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After returning to Colosse, Philemon helped Epaphras, who built the church of Colosse and served God very eagerly. He was also eager in telling others to believe God. Moreover, Philemon was a very good church member. He cared for others through using what he had.

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One day, Onesimus, a slave in Philemon's house, ran away. It is not clearly written in the Bible if Onesimus stole his master's money or did a worse thing but it is sure that he did a very big wrong thing to Philemon and he ran away because he was afraid.

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During that time, slaves were properties of the master so if a slave ran away and was caught, the slave would receive a big punishment. Onesimus ran away until he reached Rome. Anywhere he went, Onesimus was worried because he was hiding from his master.

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One day, the Apostle Paul was telling the gospel of God and by chance, Onesimus heard Paul. In that place, Onesimus heard the words about the gospel of Jesus and accepted Jesus in his heart.

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After accepting Jesus in his heart, Onesimus became a totally different person.
He repented of the wrong thing that he had done to his master Philemon.
And from that day on, he helped the Apostle Paul's work in telling the gospel.

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The Apostle Paul treated this Onesimus very preciously. Onesimus became a very helpful person to the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul trusted this Onesimus so much that he called Onesimus as his son in the faith and even called Onesimus as, his very heart.

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But the Apostle Paul thought that it was not right to keep Onesimus with him since Onesimus had a master. So the Apostle Paul decided to send Onesimus back to Philemon. For Onesimus, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to Philemon. The Book of Philemon is that letter.

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For Onesimus, Paul wrote to Philemon like this.
"I appeal for Onesimus, who became my son in faith while I was in prison. Formerly, he was a useless slave to you but now he has became very helpful to both you and to me. I am sending him, who is my very heart, back to you."

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"So if you think me as your friend, please welcome him as you would welcome me.
If he has done any wrong thing to you or owes you anything, charge it to me."

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The Apostle Paul asked Philemon earnestly to forgive and to accept Onesimus again. Paul did his best to make Philemon forgive the wrong doing of Onesimus, therefore, Paul became the mediator between them and reconciled Philemon and Onesimus back together.

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We are also like Onesimus. God is our owner but many times, we don't follow God words and make God's heart sad. Like how Onesimus ran away, we also have a bad habit of going far from God.

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But Jesus died on the cross for our sins and everyday, Jesus is praying to God for us. Everyday, Jesus is asking God to forgive our sins and asks God to never give up on us.

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Like how Onesimus was changed, we should also stop our bad habits of committing sins. If you will accept Jesus in your heart, the Holy Spirit will help you to live a changed life. I hope you can become faithful people who will follow and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit to make Jesus happy.