The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philemon 1:1-7, “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,

2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,

5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;

6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake.

7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.”

Without question, this is one of the tenderest, most loving epistles the Apostle Paul ever penned. Although there are many facets to the purpose of this epistle, it sets the standard for everything anyone needs to know and employ when pleading for a serious cause.

Onesimus was a slave of Philemon. He had escaped and come into contact with the Apostle Paul. Although Paul denounced slavery in his day, he assessed the reinstatement and determined to return Onesimus to his owner.

Certainly, Paul had the overall spiritual aspect in mind. It’s a pattern we must all embrace. As someone once said, “It’s never right to do wrong to do right.”

There are some interesting things we’ll have to examine throughout eternity. For now, it’s sufficient to live by the teachings of the Scriptures. Oh, what a day that will be!!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom