Public Obedience
Speculation can be a dangerous thing and I enter this discussion with caution. After discovering the connection between the church at Colosse and Paul’s letter to Philemon am I the only one who wondered what happened? Remember, Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who had both stolen from him and ran away. During his flight he met Paul who had become an important figure in Onesimus’ spiritual life. At some point Paul discovered the situation in Colosse and the falling out between Onesimus and Philemon. Onesimus arrived at the conclusion to return to Philemon asking for forgiveness. Paul penned (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who intended for this letter to become part of our Bible) the letter to Philemon wherein he vouched for Onesimus and asked Philemon to forgive him and welcome him back as a brother. We have no idea what happened. We do know that Philemon did not have the option to sit and listen to the letter and simpl...