Mar 6, 2022 | by Pastor Josh Tate | series: Philemon
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There are few moments in the Bible that crackle with electric tension as much as when two estranged people come together again. I’m thinking of when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, or when Jacob and Esau met on the plain, or when David called out to Saul from the cave. The Bible is full of these moments. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when Onesimus darkened the door of Philemon’s house again. What was the look on their faces? Did their voices crack with emotion when they first talked to each other? Was it awkward? How could it not be? Arguably the first such instance of estranged parties coming together in the Bible—no, in all of history—is when God walked in the garden looking for Adam and Eve who were hiding from him.
“Where are you?” God asked.
What a horrifying question.
“I was afraid and naked,” said Adam.
What a horrifying answer.
The story we are living in is about a broken relationship and God’s gracious, merciful pursuit of reconciliation with us. Of course, that gracious act of reconciliation was accomplished through the Gospel. The Bible is all about the Gospel and the Gospel is about reconciliation. It’s little surprise then that Paul’s letter to Philemon, which is like a master class on living the Gospel , has a story of reconciliation at its center. There may be other scriptures that are more often quoted in sermons on the subject, but for my money Philemon provides the best practical “how-to” in all the Bible when it comes to pursuing reconciliation with an estranged brother or sister.
