Linking to Philemon
February 1st, 2007 | by Scott |I have benefited greatly from the community that has sprung up in my blog world. I love the comments and discussion that takes place here. However, I know that often I give rather than take.
I made the commitment that I would comment more on other blogs to spread the discussion elsewhere. But one thing I have noticed is that using an RSS reader, although time-saving, limits my comment frequency.
As a result I am making some changes to my link section. Those who blog frequently (can’t stress that enough) and are a part of the discussion here I am in the process of adding to my “community.” If you are not on there and would like to be a part of my “discussion family” let me know and I’ll add you. I’m not done because blogger is being finicky today so don’t be alarmed if I haven’t added you yet (and for the life of me I don’t understand why people use blogger instead of wordpress but that’s a different subject).
Here’s to continuing the discussion.
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Our study this week is in the book of Philemon. By now, most of us know the story of Paul’s call to mercy and grace for the runaway slave, Onesimus.
But what jumped out at me this week was Paul’s greeting to Philemon. Paul greets him by extolling his faith and love. He even goes so far to say that “the hearts of the saints have been refreshed” because of the love of Philemon.
But wait, he’s a slave-holder. Now, I don’t know about you but owning a slave is fairly high up on my moral reprehensibility chart. It’s up there with murder and blue-tooth in my book.
But Paul doesn’t define him as a slave-owner. Instead he views Philemon with all of his faults as his “beloved fellow worker.”
How often do we define people based upon their worst moments or greatest sins? How often is the way we look at people determined by their weakness or shortcomings.
But that is not the way of Christ. And Paul gets that.
So should we.
7 Responses to “Linking to Philemon”
By terri on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
I pretty much only read the reader now… I forget to go back and look for comments - that’s where the fun is!
By Amy on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
This is one of my favorite communities; thank you for providing such a cozy place to chat over DIET COKE.
That is a great observation about Paul’s affirmation of Philemon. You are right - it is so easy to see others’ faults and focus on the negatives.
I recon even Bluetoothers (blueteeth?) just might have something to affirm.
By Scott on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
Yeah, you are probably right. I’ll leave it for those wiser than me to figure it out.
By Jim MacKenzie on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
Scott, question about switching to Wordpress: Can i shift all of my archives over there? I know I will need to change my address, but I was wondering if I could move everything else…
By Scott on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
Yep, you can import the whole thing. If you really want to take it to the next level, hook up with the guys at http://webbleyou.com/
By R-Liz on Feb 1, 2007 | Reply
For being such a short book, I find Philemon very rich in content.
This book not only showcases Paul’s love, but his charisma. Is there such a thing as the gift of persuasion? Because if so, Paul’s got it. I’m sure he was sincere in his words to Philemon, but I also think his words were carefully chosen in such a way in hopes of preparing Philemon’s heart to accept Onesimus back. Philemon’s gotta be feeling pretty good about himself after reading Paul’s letter. How can he NOT take Onesimus back?
And this is one of those books where I’m dying to know the rest of the story. Something for Paul Harvey to cover for me.
And Scott– I know so little about blogging beyond blogger. Is wordpress free?
By scott on Feb 2, 2007 | Reply
Wordpress is free unless you register your own domain. The webbleyou service is 4 bucks a month.
And you are right on about Philemon, it is a textbook case in handling someone.