Integrity

 April 29, 2022

Why is Paul’s letter to Philemon even in the Bible? A runaway slave makes his way to Paul in a Roman prison, where Paul leads him to Christ. Paul sends him back to his master with this letter asking Philemon to receive him not as a slave, but as a brother. This would be a pretty ordinary pastoral matter except Paul bolsters his request by leaning on Philemon a bit, reminding him that he owes Paul a great personal debt, perhaps his own salvation. If Paul were a corporation, we would call this a dunning letter.

So why did this make its way into the Scriptural canon? Perhaps it’s the very ordinariness of it, how Christian faith impacts every area of life. In verses 4-6, Paul writes that he is thankful for the reputation Philemon has for love and faith, adding these words: “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

Most of us have at one time or another encountered people who make great profession of faith until they are shown to be charlatans, fakers who behind the facade of holiness lie, steal, slander, or live immoral, ungodly lives. Paul says what we all instinctively know; that sharing our faith can be counterproductive if unaccompanied by a faithful and loving life. I am grateful tonight for the saints in my life who lived honest, quiet lives of faithful service and love, who taught me by both word and deed what it looks like to be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. In a world of costume jewelry, they are like diamonds.