Are You Living Up to Your Name?

[313 words] Nestled in the little New Testament book of Philemon is a wonderful jewel of example and instruction. First, let’s look at a little background. A Christian in Colossae by the name of Philemon owned a slave that had run away from him. Ending up in Rome, the slave, Onesimus, had become converted to Christ by the great apostle Paul (v.10). Paul wrote his friend Philemon encouraging him to now take Onesimus back. And now the jewel. Paul writes to Philemon of Onesimus that he was “once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me” (v.11). The jewel is learned when we understand what the name “Onesimus” means. In the Greek it literally means “profitable” or “useful.” If I may paraphrase Paul, he was saying, “Onesimus is now living up to his name.” Onesimus had become a Christian and was now useful to God…