MAN ON THE RUN

  

Onesimus was a man on the run. He had robbed his employer, run away from his job, and was trying to elude the law. In many ways, Onesimus was like the postmodern generation that is now reshaping the cultural landscape of our world. They are not committed to much of anything and they are willing to jettison at a moment’s notice pretty much anything that asks for commitment. Their word is not their bond and loyalty is not a concept they embrace tightly. They are a generation on the move — on the run. They are also a generation hiding from the law. Illegal drug use among postmodernists is at an all-time high.

Onesimus was such a man. Who was he? In many ways he is the central character in the shortest book in the Bible, Philemon. He had been a servant in the employ of Philemon before he robbed his employer, broke his word, and ran away.

Paul’s letter to Philemon is an appeal and a statement, written from one friend to another. Paul wrote to his friend to tell him that Onesimus was with him in Rome. Philemon lived several hundred miles away in Colosse and the Colossian church addressed in Paul’s earlier, beautiful letter, met in his home.

We really don’t know how Onesimus ended up in Rome and how he connected with Paul. So let me speculate. Paul had never been to Colosse, but it appears that Philemon had journeyed to Ephesus and Paul had led him to faith in Jesus Christ there. Since the Colossian church met in Philemon’s home, I am quite certain that Onesimus had heard a lot of teaching on Jesus and the Christian life. And he had heard Paul mentioned again and again as the man responsible for bringing the message of Life to the Gentiles.

I believe that Onesimus knew where Paul was and ran away with the intention of finding him. Is it possible that Onesimus was running because he was trying to get to something that he found attractive and yet could not get where he was? I don’t know what it was that hindered him but he ran away to get to the message of Life!

There is a fascinating amount of wordplay in this short book of Philemon. The name Onesimus means “useful.” When Paul refers to Onesimus in verse 11, he first describes him as “[he]who once was unprofitable” or useless. The verse goes on, “but now [is] profitable to you and to me.” The man whose name meant “useful” had never lived up to his name. Instead, he had been useless but now had become useful. What an incredible statement! What had taken place?

Again we are given only glimpses but they lead us to some conclusions. Either Paul or one of his team in Rome had led Onesimus to faith in Jesus and he had experienced the power of the gospel. His conversion was so strong and so complete that his “before” and “after” life stood in sharp contrast to each other. His absolutely useless life and behavior had been transformed by the power of God into a life that Paul describes as profitable, useful.

Perhaps we need to be reminded again of the power of God that is unleashed when we share the gospel with someone. Paul said it this way to the church at Rome: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The word power in the Greek is dunamis, from which the word dynamite is derived.

The unleashing of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in Onesimus’ life had blasted him out of his old life and into the fullness of a new and profitable life in Christ. “The old is gone, the new has come” (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

I do not fully embrace a lot of the theories kicking around in the church today. These theories analyze the culture and project it onto the presentation of the gospel. I agree that much of the methodology of the past is no longer relevant but what I do not agree with is the limp-wristed presentation of the message of the gospel prevalent in many churches. Is it any wonder that many in the church are confused and over forty percent of evangelicals think that Jesus is not the only way to get to God? When the message is so watered down that there is no way for people to respond, that is just clearly wrong. Has the gospel lost its power? No, but some of the messengers have lost their way!

The testimony of Onesimus is that the gospel of Jesus Christ can change a life completely. A life that by all accounts was wasted and useless can be completely changed by the power of God.  The useless life becomes a life of focus, meaning and usefulness.

Every time you share the gospel, the potential exists that the dynamite of God’s power will envelope that person. Go ahead, light the fuse!

P.S.  Church history tells us that after Timothy served as the Bishop of the church in Ephesus, the next Bishop was named Onesimus! How about that for something useless becoming useful?