Philemon is a very short book in the new testament of The Bible, it is composed of only one chapter and contains only twenty
five verses. It was written by Paul to his good
friend Philemon, entreating him to forgive his runaway servant and accept him back into his household. Onesimus had ran away from his master Philemon and had become Paul’s friend and helper.
Paul asks Philemon not only to receive Onesimus back, but also to accept and treat him like his brother and friend and no more as a servant and slave. Paul highlights the value of love and change in our everyday relationships: he argues that people do change and sometimes they
change for the
better therefore all we have to do is accommodate some space in which we can give them the opportunity to exhibit their new colors.
Clemency and compassion are values that true Christians should display; past grievances and quarrels should be forgiven and forgotten. Paul also says that sometimes negative things happen in order for a greater positive aftermath to unfold, in this case, Onesimus left him to become a better person and return to him as a more durable companion and brother in Christ. Paul demonstrates humility and grace by pleading with Philemon and not forcing him or ordering him to accept Onesimus, this is a concept that authoritative figures of churches and organizations still have to understand and utilize to perfect potential.
Philemon is a book concerned mainly with forgiveness and love, it shows that the human spirit may stray away from the hands that fed them but they can also wander back to the same hands and repay them in beautiful ways. The book speaks in volumes of charity and empathetic perseverance: it evokes the spirit of appreciation and asks everybody to give someone else a second chance.