I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you.

Philemon 12

Over the weekend, Patrina and I met a man in the Indianapolis area who described how the Underground Railroad worked in a town not far from his farm. He mentioned that the town of 5000 provided a kind of strength of numbers for a former slave owner trying to recover a slave.

Imagine being a runaway slave returning to the very place you once fled. While the slavery described in the first century was more akin to an indentured servant than the chattel slavery that was prominent in our country until the late 19th century, Onesimus was still a slave.

Paul isn’t endorsing the idea of slavery. In fact, later he will refer to Onesimus as a brother, not a slave, but Onesimus still needed to account for leaving in the first place.

Our actions have consequences and as I thought about Onesimus’ situation, I remembered an instance in my own life that required me to make amends to another. It’s a long story, but in order to avoid a difficult discussion, I evaded a direct question. Essentially I told a lie of omission and so after a couple of occasions of avoiding the truth, I confessed my lie to my acquaintance. I’m sure he thought less of me and I can’t undo what I did, because sin brings consequences even when we’re forgiven.

Onesimus ran away for some reason, but now he was headed back to face Philemon with Paul’s letter in hand.