Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus … To Philemon our beloved fellow worker … Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints … For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus … I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the Gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent … For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother … So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it … Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. … The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
(Philemon 1:1a, 2a, 3-5, 7-10a, 12-14a, 15-16a, 17-19a, 20b-21, 25 ESV)
Imagine the anguish with which Paul wrote this letter! On the one hand he has Onesimus, a young brother in Christ—someone God brought to faith in Jesus through Paul’s own words. And on the other hand he has an old friend, Philemon, who is also a church leader in his city—and who happens to be the slave master Onesimus ran away from.
How is Paul to reconcile these two people whom he loves so much? How is he to nudge Philemon toward not just forgiving Onesimus for leaving and possible theft, but actually setting him free and treating him as a brother in the faith? Especially in that culture?
Paul is asking for a miracle. And yet it happened. Church history tells us of a bishop named Onesimus in Ephesus who was the right age to be this man. There’s also a mention of him in Colossians 4:9, where he’s traveling freely with another friend of Paul.
Paul got his miracle, not by commands or force, but by relying on the love of Christ—that is, the love that the Holy Spirit has put into the hearts of God’s people. That love springs up in our hearts because Jesus gave His own life to set us free and make us members of His own family. Because He has loved us, we are no longer slaves, but God’s dearly loved children forever.
We Pray: Dear Lord, help me to love others with the love You have for me. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on September 3, 2025
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved.
Reflection Questions:
1, How do you think the neighbors reacted when Philemon set Onesimus free?
2. Have you seen God do other surprising things in your life? What?
3. How does Jesus’ love for you affect the way you care for others?