Philemon (read it here) is a short, personal letter written during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome. It is written at the same time as Paul's letter to the Colossians. 

Paul is writing to the owner of Onesimus, a runaway slave. Onesimus had run from Turkey all the way to Rome, 1200 miles away. Certainly, he would be safe there!

In Rome Onesimus meets Paul who was under house arrest (see Acts 28:16, 30), Onesimus becomes a Christian. Now Paul is sending Onesimus back to his owner. Would you return if you were Onesimus? Would you welcome Onesimus back if you were Philemon? The letter to Philemon illustrates the challenges we face to live out our faith and love in Christ Jesus.
 
Just a few modern-day examples... …

• if you are a couple living together outside of marriage. It is hard to make the commitment. Perhaps you don’t want to move up the wedding date. Is the counsel the Holy Spirit gave Onesimus, “Do the hard thing and do God's will," just too hard for you? 
• if you are estranged from family members. It is hard to humble yourself, to ask for forgiveness, to give forgiveness. It is easier to just stay estranged. Is the counsel the Holy Spirit gave Philemon, “Do the hard thing and do God's will," just too hard for you?
• If you are struggling with an addiction, and you know you can't beat it alone, will you do "the hard thing" and confess your troubles to another person and find help?

Your conscience may be telling you, “This is God’s will for my life,” but your sinful nature is saying, “That is just too hard”?
 
Read Paul’s counsel to Onesimus and Philemon again. What would lead Onesimus to travel over 1200 miles to an uncertain response from his master? What would keep Philemon from treating Onesimus as he deserved as a runaway slave?  
 
“I appeal to you on the basis of love.”
 
Friend, you have experienced the love of the Savior. You have experienced forgiveness in Christ. It is in the hard times and the hard decisions of life that the power of the Holy Spirit is most evident in us.

The power of the Holy Spirit and the power of our sinful nature are illustrated in Isaiah 38-39. 

In the very same year that King Hezekiah faced the threat of the Assyrians (Isaiah 36-37), he becomes deathly ill. The LORD tells him he will die.

You see the power of the Holy Spirit in his prayer. He asks to be spared, and the LORD in his mercy gives him 15 more years of life. In his prayer of thanksgiving, he recognizes God's wisdom in sending him this illness. "I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul." 

Sadly, in the very next chapter we see the power of the sinful nature. This man who had vowed to walk humbly with the LORD fails a test. It is not immediately apparent to us, but the LORO understands what is happening.

Hezekiah shows all of his wealth to the Babylonian envoys. Why? In his pride and self-reliance, he shows a potential ally (on the east side of Assyria) that he is worthy of being an ally. Pride... and looking for a political solution to the Assyrian threat rather than trusting in the LORD. 

As a result, 100 years later, the Babylonians will do exactly what the Assyrians did. Initially they will come as saviors but then become Judah's enemy and bring death, destruction and exile. 

To bring home the reality of this coming judgment, in the remaining chapters of his prophecy, Isaiah speaks to that future generation who would experience the Babylonian exile. 

After all the love and faithfulness of the LORD that Hezekiah experienced, he failed to trust in Him.

What a warning to us!

Am I willing to do "the hard thing" -- to obey like Onesimus, to forgive like Philemon, to entrust my future to the LORD (like Hezekiah did at first and then failed to do)? 
 
Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Give us the strength and courage to do the godly thing, the hard thing, to the glory of our Savior God. Amen.