I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) Philemon 10-11
In the letter that Paul wrote to Philemon, both he and a man named Onesimus were in prison together. Onesimus was once a slave to Philemon but was rather rebellious and ran away. When meeting Paul he became a Christ follower and began an active work with Paul in spreading the Gospel.
In verse 11, Paul reminds Philemon that once Onesimus was useless to him. The Bible doesn’t say why, we can only guess. Was it because he was lazy or always trying to run away? We just don’t know. What we do know is that he became useful to Paul and that Paul was sending him back to Philemon, not as a slave but as a brother in Christ.
Many of us at times find ourselves useless and question our purpose. It is the power of Jesus coming alive in our lives that turns us around. Thank God for a man like Paul that saw the usefulness in this once slave and led him into an effective witness for Jesus. I pray that the power of Jesus would come alive in each of us as we seek to serve Him. Oh, by the way, the name Onesimus means useful – ironic, huh?