Daily Walk Through the New Testament
January 28
Read Philemon 1-25
Following Jesus is all about relationships. First and foremost, following Jesus is about having an intimate love relationship with God. It’s not about do’s and don’ts, rights and wrongs, rules and regulations; it’s about the experience of knowing and loving God in a personal relationship. But following Jesus is not just about a relationship with God; it’s also about relationships with others.
Because you have a relationship with God, you have a relationship with God’s family, and it is impossible to be right with God and not be right with God’s family. Nowhere in Scripture is this more obvious than the book of Philemon. The whole book is dedicated to reconciling one relationship. There’s a lesson to be learned here:if the Spirit of God inspired an entire book of the Bible to show the importance of reconciling relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ, then we should make it a priority to examine our relationships and do everything in our power to live in right fellowship with others.
Is there any relationship in your life that needs to be reconciled? Whom do you need to go to today to seek or give forgiveness, pay back a debt, honor a commitment made, or remove an obstacle in your fellowship? Maybe God wants to use you, as He did Paul, as his instruments to bring reconciliation between others who are at odds.
The book of Philemon is a living example of Paul’s instruction in Romans 12:18; “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Are you living this way?