God treats us with great generosity

Today I want to conclude my meditation on the parable of the prodigal son. Exploring and analyzing the passage from the Epistle to Philemon on behalf of the apostle Paul to see how in reality in a specific situation, God speaks to us about that double identity that we have:

On the one hand to be servants totally subject and surrendered to the Will of their Lord and on the other hand also chosen children that we have every right to confidently approach the Throne of Grace, knowing that our Heavenly Father and our condition as children allows us very good to have that generous and ambitious perspective on our life and ourselves.

In this passage from Philemon beginning with chapter 8, we remember the story that Paul is advocating for Onesimus, this slave who had escaped from his master Philemon, had gone to another city, there Paul knows him, he receives Christ as his Lord and Savior, and then Paul tells him that he must return to his lord, Philemon, and correct that situation of having escaped from his lord.

But Paul writes as a letter of recommendation to Onesimus so that Philemon receives him in a positive way and that instead of punishing him for leaving home, he receives him as his brother in Christ Jesus and receives him in a benevolent way instead in a punitive way.

And then Paul, after writing to Philemon telling him to accept Onesimus, says: "For this reason, although I have a lot of freedom in Christ to send you what is convenient" listen to that, "rather I beg you out of love, being as I am, Paul already old , and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I beg you for my son Onesimus "it is interesting that the word Onesimus means: useful, profitable," whom I begat in my prisons, who in another time was useless because he had escaped, but now he is useful to us, to whom I am sending you again. You therefore receive him as myself. "

It is fascinating what Paul says, that although I have a lot of freedom in Christ to send you, order you what is convenient, rather I beg you for love, there you have this idea in a capsule. Although God has all the right in the world and in the universe to force us to do what He absolutely wants, and although we have the obligation to consider God as fully entitled to rule our life even in the most minute things, nevertheless the interesting thing it is that God rather treats us with great courtesy, with great generosity.

And many times God instead of forcing us to serve Him or to give Him rather uses the gentleness of the Holy Spirit, uses the conviction of the heart to invite us to do His Will. One of the things that moves me many times is that in my own ministry, God sits with me and asks me to do something but does not force me to do it or treat me like a robot or a puppet ruled by Him, but God always tries through my free will, my will and uses His Holy Spirit, His Word, advice from other brothers to lead me to the conviction of doing what He wants me to do.

Then in verse 13 of Philemon Paul says to Philemon: I would like to keep him with me so that instead of you he would serve me in my prisons for the Gospel, in other words Paul tells him: hey, it would be useful for me to have this young man helping me while I am in prison and help me make my graves in the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent.

Do you see here again this idea that although Paul could very well take advantage of this young man and have the right in a spiritually sense, because Paul has been Philemon's mentor, but rather he prefers to do nothing without Philemon's prior consent but rather In a sense, he is saying: hey, I am going to send it to you, but if you can return it to me to serve me in my prisons, that would be ideal. It says: "So that your favor would not be as of necessity, but voluntary."

God does not want us to serve him out of obligation but to do so voluntarily. What does the Word say? that God loves a cheerful giver. God likes it when we serve him with great joy, with great joy, understanding the immense privilege that this represents.

In verse 15 he says: "For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a time, so that you would receive him forever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, as a beloved brother." Do you see here the beautiful clarification that the Holy Spirit gives us? God receives us now not as slaves but as something far superior to slaves, God receives us as beloved children and Christ receives us as brothers, he receives us as friends.

Verse 17: "So if you have me as a companion, receive him as myself, and if he hurt you or owes you, put it on my account. I, Paul, write it with my hand, I will pay it, not to tell you that even yourself you owe me too. "

Do you see, my brothers, how these two tendencies are being debated in Paul's mind? On the one hand, Philemon, I have the right to order you to do something for me because I begot you, I have been your mentor, you have known Christ through me, I have discipled you and in a sense I have spiritual rule over your life. , but instead of that I ask you to do things out of conviction, out of generosity, out of your good will; although remember that in reality you owe it to me, I do not owe you anything. If you are going to do something of a blessing for Onesimus for my request, I am in debt but ultimately you have more debts to me than I do to you.

So that is the double aspect of the Christian life: on the one hand, useless servants and on the other hand, blessed and chosen children. We have to live in the tension between those two dimensions and when we are going too far to one side, let's move on to the other side to correct it and keep ourselves in that precious balance of those two luminous truths. May the Lord bless you my beloved brothers and sisters and I hope that this meditation on the useless servant has been a great blessing for your lives as it has been for me. Until next time.