Colossians 4:18
The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Written from Rome to Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.
Two encouraging words that could inspire every believer, and especially the believer who has a past, are the words, and Onesimus. To understand the value of these two words, you must go back to the book of Philemon. Paul addressed Philemon about Onesimus, a man Paul led to Christ in prison. Paul asked Philemon to forgive him because he was valuable to the ministry. Philemon did forgive Onesimus, but not only did he forgive him, but he also practiced restoration.
The result of Philemon’s forgiving and restoring Onesimus is found in Colossians 4:9 which says, With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Not only do we see his value in this verse, but at the end of the chapter, we see that the book of Colossians was written down by Tychicus AND Onesimus. The truths we learn from the book of Colossians are partly because one man learned to forgive and restore someone who had done wrong. Three actions make this whole situation possible.
The first action was forgiveness. Had Philemon chosen not to forgive Onesimus, the value that Onesimus provided would never have been realized. Yes, Onesimus did wrong, but forgiveness was necessary to allow him the opportunity to become valuable to God, the ministry, and to eternity.
The second action was restoration. It is good to forgive, but the value of Onesimus would not have come to fruition had Philemon not restored him as a brother. Forgiveness gives the opportunity to see the value in a fallen brother, but restoration shows the power of God’s grace in one’s life. You will never see what the power of God’s grace can do in one’s life if you are unwilling to forgive and restore. Restoration is as critical as forgiveness, but restoration cannot be started without forgiveness.
The third action we see that made Onesimus of such value was that he did not waste the opportunity that forgiveness and restoration gave him. Onesimus made the most of forgiveness and restoration. Onesimus did not squander the opportunity that forgiveness and restoration gave him by doing something by faith with his life.
Any church that will be used by God must have these three actions constantly present if that church is to be used mightily by God. You will be wronged in the ministry, and that is why forgiveness is critical. However, you can say you forgive, but if you hold someone in prison because they wronged you, they will never know the power of God’s grace that restoration gives. By choosing not to forgive and restore, you are hurting the eternity of that individual and also those whom they will influence. I would hate to think that my pettiness never to forgive and restore confines the power of God’s grace in one’s life. If you will get over yourself and your pettiness, you can find within yourself the power to forgive and restore.
However, if someone has forgiven you and are willing to restoring you, don't waste the opportunity. Make the most of your opportunity by investing your life in helping others to come to Christ. Eternity needs these three actions to be prevalent in the church, because these three actions allows God to show His power to restore any person.
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