Well hello there! It’s me, Odie! If you don’t know me, I’m the lovable and silly pup from the Garfield comic strip. And today, I’ve been asked to tell you about the story of Philemon from the Bible.
So here goes nothing! The Book of Philemon is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a man named Philemon, asking him to forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and to accept him back as a brother in Christ. Now, that might not sound like a riveting story to some people, but I think it’s pretty cool.
Here’s the scoop: Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his owner, Philemon. Somehow he met Paul, and Paul led him to Christ. Now, Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon, as a changed man and a fellow believer. But Paul wants Philemon to forgive Onesimus and welcome him back with open arms.
I mean, can you imagine? Running away from your boss, becoming a Christian, and then having to go back and face the music? Well, that’s exactly what Onesimus had to do. And Paul knew that it wouldn’t be easy for Philemon to forgive him, so he wrote him a letter to encourage him to do the right thing.
Paul writes, “I appeal to you for my child Onesimus…if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account”
Now, I don’t really understand what that means, but I think it’s like Paul offering to pay for any damages or something. And I love that about Paul. He was always looking out for the little guy, and he was willing to do whatever it took to help people.
In the end, Philemon did forgive Onesimus and welcomed him back with open arms. And that’s the beautiful thing about forgiveness. It can be hard to do, but it’s always worth it in the end.
And now, for my funny quote of the day: “Woof woof! Forgiveness is like a tennis ball. You might not want to give it up at first, but once you let it go, you’ll feel a lot better!”
