Philemon, Revisited Again: "Keeping The Big Picture In Mind"

"Perhaps the reason he was separated from you 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. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the LORD." Philemon 15-16

Ever wonder why the Lord who loves us so much allows trials and temptations to happen in our lives? The devil of course concocted these traps to destroy us and pull us away from being in fellowship with God and His people. It is also his ploy to render us useless in God's Gospel enterprise. But little does he know that God is in control all the time and He allows these work of Satan to purify us, strengthen us and to help us grow progressing into Christ-likeness every single day.

Let us continue to believe that God will never allow any painful experience to happen in our lives without a higher purpose. No experience that God allows in our lives that is meant to destroy us but to build us up. Neither is God sleeping at the switch and know not what is happening in our lives today . . . . or any day! Just imagine His loving, powerful, giant hand resting above our heads completely preventing the flow of trials and temptations to touch our lives. But now and then He opens up those fingers to allow one to go through completely scrutinized by Him and He also decided will produce the gift of the Spirit in our lives. Then at the end of our stay here on earth, He might allow that one last trial to finally lead us home so we can be with Him forever. Oh, He loves us so that as we go through the pain, we have a God who is suffering with us and will never leave our side.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15

As Paul pointed out to Philemon, God has a big picture to show us. The pain that Philemon experienced in the hands of Onesimus was not meant to completely separate them but to bring them back much better than before.

Onesimus, the story goes, became a bishop. It is only natural for a man who lived with Paul to have gained so much from that experience. But if Paul could turn a slave into a bishop, Philemon, even through these trials "refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 7. In verse 6, Paul emphasized the importance of being busy working for the Lord for in so doing our knowledge will grow steadily about how blessed we are as sons of God! Even in Ephesians 1 and 3, Paul's prayers for believers are focused on our ability to grasp how great the grace we received through Christ from the Father.

When we see the big picture, we can endure anything. When we are more aware of our position before God in Christ, we will be able to overlook small nagging problems. When we see the bigger plan of God, we will not waste time on things of little importance. When we are more sure of our inheritance in Him, everything else on this earth becomes less important for the sake of spreading the Good News.

Let us not allow conflict to detract us from what is of utmost importance. The world continue to march toward eternal death. Let us not allow Satan, who can never win our souls, paralyze us with our broken relationships.