Who Is One of You

Daily Reading: Colossians 4

Scripture Focus: And with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. (Colossians 4.9)

Devotional Thought: One of the things I love about being a pastor is to see new relationships forming. When Jim and Debbie began attending our church, I invited them to my small group, thinking how great it would be great to have them with me. I also told them about other groups/classes as well. They came to my class one time, but they "landed" with another class. That group was perfect for them. How rewarding it was to see them really become a part of that group – to learn and grow in the Lord, to connect and pray with people. Jim and Debbie are "one of them."

In Colossians 4, Paul is re-connecting Onesimus to that congregation. Onesimus – who had been a slave of Philemon, one of the leading members of that church – had run away from Colossae and gone to Rome. There, he met Paul and came to know Christ. (You can read his story in Philemon.) It was Paul’s privilege to send Onesimus back to Colossae, back to Philemon, and back to the church – no longer as a slave, but as a brother. Was he nervous about it? You bet! Onesimus was his friend, and Paul wasn’t sure how it would go. But, Paul knew it was the right thing to do.

Onesimus, who had once been a slave, was now “our faithful and beloved brother.” He was “one of you.” The connection was made. If church tradition is accurate, the connection was solid. Onesimus grew in the Lord until he became the Bishop of Ephesus, a city near Colossae.

Two questions arise. First, are you connected? Second, who are you connecting?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me a faith family. Help me to connect with them so that I might give and receive encouragement and support. Give me eyes to see others who need to be connected as well. And help me then to do my part. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! 3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. (Psalms 17:1-5)