Useful
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
Insert real meaning behind your name. Choose to
be ...
Useful
by Randal Matheny
Ever have one of those self-pity moments when you
told yourself that your efforts were ineffective
and you yourself were just useless? Maybe you even
wanted to pitch it all and run away.
Onesimus must have felt that way. After all, what
use can a slave have, other than fulfilling the
whims of his master? Even if you're name is
Useful. Yes, Onesimus wasn't quite living up to
his name.
We gather from the book of Philemon that Onesimus
-- let's call him Useful, shall we? -- had
possibly stolen from his master and then fled.
Somehow, somewhere, he encounters Paul, who
preaches to the runaway slave and converts him to
Christ.
Useful begins to live up to his name. He serves
the apostle, but still has some unfinished
business to attend to. His repentance means going
back to put things right with his owner. (A lesson
not a few folks need today.) So Paul sends him
back to Philemon with a letter asking him to
welcome Useful back and to debit any losses from
his account. He says,
"I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I
have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was
useless to you, but now is useful both to you and
to me. I have sent him back to you in person, that
is, sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep
with me, so that on your behalf he might minister
to me in my imprisonment for the gospel" (Phile.
1:10-13, NASU).
Paul finds Useful so, well, useful, so helpful, he
wants him back. He is willing to pay for damages.
He appeals for reconciliation.
Why Useful ran, we will never know. But he
evidently sought out Paul, who was in prison.
There, he found a greater aid than he imagined
possible. He found salvation. And he discovered
how to live up to his name. By serving. What he
was unwilling to do in his natural state and
position, he did gladly as a disciple of Christ.
When the tide of human emotions leaves you feeling
useless and ineffective, remember our brother
Useful. In his desperation, he ran in the right
direction, found not only an apostle but a Savior,
and discovered the joy of service.
May we all wear his name.
----
Share today's article with a friend. (Be useful.)
And help get the good word out.
----