“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me” (Philemon 1:10,11).
TEXT — Philemon 1:9-14
Message
A dramatic and touching event took place in Munich, Germany sometime in 1947. It was part of the triumphant true story of one courageous Christian woman who became a militant heroine of the anti-Nazi underground. Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian, was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II for hiding hundreds of Jews fleeing Nazi brutality at their home in the Netherlands between 1940 and 1944. After the war, at a church service in Munich, she encountered one of her former Nazi guards who had become a Christian. He approached her, extending his hand in reconciliation and asking for forgiveness. Despite the immense pain and suffering she endured at the hands of the Nazis, Corrie chose to forgive him, illustrating the transforming power of forgiveness and reconciliation in promoting Christian love and unity.
The story of Corrie is profoundly amplified in our text today. It beams the light on the transformed and profitable life that must follow true salvation. Apostle Paul testifies to the new life of Onesimus, a slave who had become a Christian under his ministry while in Roman prison. Here, he reconciles the run-away servant to his former master. The transformation of life narrated in Paul’s message to Philemon confirms the positive impact of genuine conversion and the demonstrable fruit of repentance evidenced through a change of life and by willingness to correct all wrongs done in the past and reconciliation with the individuals wronged.
This practice of restitution authenticates our new life in Christ and the dedication to have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward all men. Restitution is not a one-off act or practice. We must understand that whenever we have the prompting of the Spirit to make amend, seek forgiveness, correct false statements, or refund money collected inappropriately, among other things, we must be willing to act accordingly. Paul the apostle himself demonstrated this in the course of his ministry (Acts 24:16).
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
1 comment
Glory to God for today’s daily manna and the message therein. O Lord, please help me to fully restitute my ways, to enable me have your peace in my heart in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Glory to God for today’s daily manna and the message therein. O Lord, please help me to fully restitute my ways, to enable me have your peace in my heart in Jesus’ name, Amen.