COMMITTED TO MAKING PEACE

Dearly Beloved, COMMITTED TO MAKING PEACE “God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others. What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 CEV). In the one-chapter book to Philemon in the Bible, Onesimus was a slave of Philemon, an influential member of the Colossian church. Onesimus ran away from his master, but had an encounter with Paul in the prison in Rome. He became born again through Paul. As he was returning to his master, Paul had to re-introduce him to his master so that his master would be able to treat him not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Slavery was a normal thing in the Greco-Roman world when incident happened. In that era, people became slaves if they were either taken as the spoils of war or became such because they sold themselves into slavery (known as “bond-servant”). Most of them were well educated. Their treatment was far different from the treatment of slaves in the recent times. It is interesting to note that majority of people in that era were either slaves or once slaves. The scenario of Onesimus and Philemon is that of reconciliation, forgiveness and brotherliness. Apostle Paul wanted Philemon to forgive Onesimus of any wrongdoing Onesimus might have done, and start treating Onesimus as a brother in Christ. Although, the ministry of reconciliation that every Christian is committed to (see 2 Corinthians 5:19) is leading people to make peace with God, still as Apostle Paul had earlier admonished the Romans: “and do your best to live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18 CEV), he wanted Philemon to demonstrate this by making peace with Onesimus and live at peace with him (that is, Onesimus). There are some people that we also need to forgive and extend hands of brotherliness to no matter what they might have done against us. As we are committed to the message of reconciliation, we should promote it anywhere we find ourselves. We should make peace with people around us and live at peace with them. Who do you need to make peace with today? In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: O God, help me to always make peace with other people around me.