Tracing the rainbow

Perhaps the reason he [Onesimus] was separated from you [Philemon] for a little while was that you might have him back for good  – no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. Philemon 15

Philemon of Colosse is angry; one of his slaves has run away, after helping himself to some money.

To be honest, Onesimus was never much use anyway (in spite of his name meaning “Useful”!), but nobody is happy to be treated in this way. Well, if ever he resurfaces – trouble! But why on earth would he? – Roman law allowed that runaway slaves could even be executed, so it would be a pretty stupid thing to do.

Philemon puts Onesimus out of his mind and gets on with life.

But then… Onesimus does resurface.

Amazingly, he comes back voluntarily, well aware of the punishment that might await him. Why would he do such a thing! Well, what Philemon doesn’t know is that he has, tucked away in his pocket, a powerful secret weapon.

As Philemon prepares to give him a blasting, Onesimus says, “Er, master, before you say anything, would you mind just reading a letter I have for you?” “A letter?” says Philemon; “what do you mean?” “Well”, says Onesimus, “it’s from Paul, your friend”.

A letter from Paul! Philemon is stunned…

This is the letter we have in our New Testaments at the end of Paul’s letters, the letter in which Paul explains that he has met Onesimus in prison (probably in Rome), that the runaway slave has become a Christian in that time; and in which (here comes the bombshell) he asks Philemon to welcome him back (!) “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother…”

Picture, please, Philemon’s face as he reads this letter! Is Paul really asking him to treat one of his slaves as “a dear brother! He realises that he has, as they say, some serious thinking to do. And that’s putting it mildly.

I can’t guarantee this is exactly how this drama unfolded – I’ve used my imagination a bit. But it must have been something like this. Why not read Philemon again yourself (it’s only twenty-five verses) and see how you can bring it to life?

What I want to focus on particularly is verse 15, the one that begins “Perhaps the reason Onesimus was separated from you for a little while was …”

What’s so special about that? Well, I am struck by the way Paul assumes there must have been a reason why these things had happened. It wasn’t just chance. Putting it simply… Something bad had happened; but God was bringing something good out of it. This is a truth which the Bible often illustrates - and a truth we can apply to ourselves amid the ups and downs of our lives today.

Bad things happen to God’s people, jut as to everybody else. Often we are puzzled; we can’t see any rhyme or reason in it. But often also we find later on - and it may be very much later - that something good resulted. To use the words of the old hymn: “God moves in a mysterious way/ His wonders to perform”.

The classic Bible example is Joseph in the Book of Genesis. He suffers the cruelty and injustice of being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. His master’s wife viciously gets him put in prison. But God does an amazing thing – Joseph becomes the Egyptian king’s right-hand man, and is used to save the world from famine. This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been through his seemingly meaningless suffering.

And when Joseph eventually meets again those cruel brothers, what does he say to them? Does he blast them for their wickedness? No. “Do not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you (Genesis 45).

Yes, it was anything but obvious at the time. Yes, what happened was wrong, wicked. Yes, it plunged Joseph into years of pain and misery. But, says Joseph, God was behind it all, working out purposes that nobody could have had the remotest idea of.

A simple question: Do you believe that God has reasons for the bad things that happen to you? I was taught as a very young Christian that in the purposes of God there is no such thing as coincidence, and I have never seen any reason to doubt that. As another great hymn puts it, there are times we need to “trace the rainbow through the rain”.

Have faith in God! The sun will shine again, and his wonderful purposes will become clear.

And if for you, as for me at the moment, things are going along fairly smoothly, let’s make a point of praying right now for our brothers and sisters who are presently in the valley of the shadow…

Lord Jesus Christ, there are millions of people in this world today who faithfully seek to trust and obey you, but to whom truly terrible things are happening. Please look specially on them, and touch them with your comfort, grace and light. Amen.