Scripture:
Philemon 1:8-16
(ESV)
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, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he
was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 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 in
order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 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—especially to me, but how much more to
you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Devotional:
As the year comes to an end I think of
endings and beginnings. Today ends one
year and tomorrow begins a new one.
People often talk about starting over, or new beginnings. Topics of what we will change are
discussed. The beginning of a new year often
brings out the hope of new beginnings and changes for the better.
In Philemon Paul opens in with a plea for
Onesimus. Not much is known about Onesimus. We do know he ran away and was a slave or bondservant
to Philemon. We also know that while
with Paul his life is changed. Paul
pleas with Philemon to receive Onesimus back not as he was before but as a
brother in Christ. Onesiumus has been
given a new beginning. His life changed
forever for several reasons.
After receiving and accepting Christ as our Lord
and Savior we too are given a new beginning.
Colossians 2:12 (ESV) “having been buried with him in baptism, in which
you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who
raised him from the dead.” Our old lives
come to an end. We are given a new birth,
a spiritual birth. With this spiritual
birth comes a new beginning, a new life.
It doesn’t mean all our troubles are gone. It doesn’t mean our earthly circumstance are
now magically changed and we are living lives of kings and queens. It does mean that we have eternal hope in
Christ. It does mean that the Holy
Spirit dwells in us and God is with us through everything. Regardless of the outcome here on earth in
this life we have an eternal life full of the richness that God gives.
With our acceptance of Jesus, we are given
new lives and a fresh start. It is up to
us with what we do with this new beginning.
As we leave the old year behind and the new year begins, we can have a
fresh start. We too can have a new
beginning. Our sins can be forgiven. Our lives can be transformed. We can start fresh. As one year ends and a new year begins think
about how and where you would like a fresh start, a new beginning. We cannot go back in time, but we can make a
difference with the time we have left…
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