Paul’s letter to Philemon, a friend and Christian leader, is an appeal on behalf of Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus, who has also met Jesus and found refuge with Paul.  While slavery was a common practice in the Roman empire, with legal support backing it, Paul’s basis for his appeal is the love and forgiveness of Christ. Paul is helping Philemon learn to forgive and receive his former slave back, not as a slave but now as a brother in Christ. Paul offers to pay Onesimus’ debt seeking to transform the relationship between the two men from master/slave to equals in the family of God. Jesus Christ paid our debt, transforming us from former enemies into beloved children of God.

The hero of this story is Jesus whose life, death, and resurrection make us equal citizens of God’s kingdom. People from completely different backgrounds—like Paul, a former Jewish leader; Onesimus, a runaway slave; and Philemon, a Gentile slavemaster—are brought together by the gospel under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus helps us when we have trouble forgiving or seeing others as equal members of God’s family. In light of God’s love for us, we can be loving, kind, and forgiving to our brothers and sisters in Christ for the glory of God.