True Christian Fellowship
True Christian Fellowship.—Onesimus, a servant of Philemon, ran away from his master and went to Rome. Paul was acquainted with Philemon, who was a devout Christian, but whether he was converted before or after his servant left him is not stated. When Paul went to Rome he met Onesimus, and the latter was converted. Then Paul sent him back to his master as bearer of a letter, in which the servant was highly commended as a Christian brother. His appeal to Philemon is very touching. He sent Onesimus, "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved." Then the aged apostle, now in prison, gives his note of hand to pay whatever the former servant might have owed his master when he ran away. As a dissertation on practical Christian fellowship, the brief "Epistle of Paul to Philemon" is a rare specimen. Read it carefully.