Pleasant Surprises

Sometimes life offers its pleasant surprises. Last night, my oldest son graduated from high school, which is a major milestone (one down three to go . . .). Family often gathers for events such as this, and mine was no exception. We all met at a local eatery to enjoy some time together before the ceremony. The surprise was sitting down and then seeing my sister-in-law peep her head around the corner. She came all the way from Nicaragua where she serves as a missionary, and she managed to keep it a secret from us. It was an unexpected blessing I will not ever forget.

          I thought of unexpected blessings and pleasant surprises as I studied Philemon this week for Sunday school. We have just completed a study of

Colossians where Paul mentions Onesimus, whom he considered his “faithful and beloved brother” (Col. 4:9, NASB) in the faith. This is not terribly surprising unless you know the rest of the story, which is our next unit of study. The letter of Philemon was written as an appeal from Paul on behalf of Onesimus. As it turns out, Onesimus was a runaway slave who became a Christian when he met up with Paul. Paul’s description of Onesimus is like one of a son: “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; but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will” (Philemon 11-13). Paul not only encourages Philemon to accept Onesimus as he would himself – as a Christian (neither slave nor free) – but also reminds Philemon that his debt (of sin) was the same as Onesimus’. Onesimus ran away a slave, but returned of his own volition – a man changed by a surprise encounter with grace.