Imagine receiving a letter detailing the most explosive financial dispute in your life. Now imagine that letter is copied to your closest friends and meant to be read out loud. This is exactly what happened to Philemon. Paul wrote from a Roman prison to address a runaway slave named Onesimus. This short letter challenges us with a powerful truth. Grace received has nowhere to hide.

Surrender Your Rights

Paul usually began his letters by establishing his credentials as an apostle. But here he dropped his title and identified himself by his chains. He laid his rank down to approach Philemon as a fellow sufferer. Philemon was a paterfamilias with absolute legal authority over his household. Paul did not command obedience from him. Paul emptied himself of his rights to ask Philemon to do the exact same thing. A person grabbed by grace leads with vulnerability instead of leverage.

Let Faith Cost You

Paul praised Philemon for his love and his faith. He linked these two ideas so tightly that they became inseparable. Faith is the engine running under the hood. Love is what comes out of the exhaust. You cannot claim the engine is running if nothing is coming out. Philemon loved all the saints. But most of us have a quiet list of people we exempt from that love. We draw a boundary around the people who have betrayed or hurt us. Paul challenged Philemon to let his faith show up where it actually cost him something.

Close the Knowledge Gap

Paul prayed that Philemon's sharing of faith would become effective. The Greek word for sharing is koinonia. It means mutual participation and belonging to one another. The word for knowledge is epinosis. It means knowing something so thoroughly that it changes what you do.

Many of us go to the doctor and receive a clear diagnosis and a prescription. We understand our condition perfectly but we never actually fill the prescription. Our knowledge sits there completely unperformed. Paul wanted Philemon to close the gap between knowing theology and performing it in his hardest situation. When we reconcile with people who have wronged us, the watching world sees the gospel doing what nothing else can do.