Our Bible study for Wednesday night focused on the letter from the Apostle Paul to Philemon. Philemon is a part of the Bible that has often troubled me. I remember thinking at one point that Paul was blackmailing his friend Philemon but I that God would not have allowed a letter in His revelation to mankind that encourages such behavior becomes a “how to” manual for “Christian blackmail.” There had to be more to it than what I was feeling.

There are several messages found in those 25 verses that are important to us. Paul spends a great deal of time in this short, personal letter commending Philemon for his friendship and ministry with the local church; he commended him for opening his home to the church and expressed a great desire to once again return to Philemon and enjoy his company and hospitality. But the big message conveyed in this passage is the idea of living out our faith even when we have the legal right to bahave otherwise. In other words, according to the law, not only was Philemon not obligated to forgive Onesimus, the runaway thief and slave, he had the right to have him punished, up to and including death. But the law that was chiseled on the heart of Philemon took a higher precedence.

As our study was concluding, someone mentioned to me that there is no information telling just how close Paul and Philemon were. We know Paul respected Philemon, personally knew his family, and also treated Philemon as a son (just as he did Timothy, Titus and later Onesimus).

I thought about the relationship between Paul and Philemon quite a bit after the study ended. I came to the conclusion that we all need a “Paul” in our life. We all need someone who can call us to attention, challenge our thinking, and help us make the right decision in difficult times.

I don’t have a “Paul” in my life. Do you? Yes, we have the Holy Spirit and he can work in ways that a “Paul” can’t. But it would be really nice to have someone like Paul speaking into my life, who views me as a “son” and only speaks what the Lord directs him to speak and always has my best interests at heart.

But even more, I want to be a “Paul” to someone else. Perhaps being a “Paul” should become more of a pursuit than finding a Paul.

Anyone lose a slave lately?

In Pursuit!