See ya later

"Have you noticed he never says goodbye?"  I asked my husband referring to a well respected leader of our church.  He was gracious and a good conversationalist.  Yet when he sensed the dialogue had reached its conclusion he would just walk off.  I'm not sure why I noticed or even still ponder it.  I'm not a fan of farewells.  To me, the farewell emphasizes the ending rather than the new, the fresh, the beginning.

Sometimes I avoid endings.  If I really enjoy a book the last few pages take as long to read as most of the whole book. 

Yet sometimes I gain real satisfaction from the end.  Hand sewing the binding on a quilt is one of my favorite parts.  Making the binding is my least favorite.  The final step of turning and stitching the binding gives me pure satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment in the midst of  a farewell.  (I love all my projects.  If I don't love them, they either get thrown out or never finished.)

Paul gave me  a recipe for a proper farewell in Philemon 21-25.  There are four ingredients.

1.         Encouragement.  Paul expressed his confidence that Philemon would do more than the "right thing" with Onesimus' situation.

2.         Hope.  Paul asked Philemon to get the guest room ready because he intended to visit Philemon.  It would be more than a visit.  It would be the restoration of their friendship and an answer to prayer.

3.         Assurance.  Paul reminded Philemon of their fellow workers in the joint mission to serve Christ.  He mentions Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke.  Paul reminded Philemon that he was not alone in his service.

4.         Relationship.  Finally Paul wraps it up with what the theologians call a benediction.  I think of the final statement as a reminder of the True Point:  It's about Jesus.  It's about the spiritual relationship with Him and the believers, not the petty stuff the world majors on but the eternal matters.

So it's seems time to end my study of the Book of Philemon.  As I look back this tiny book (in comparison to the other books in the Bible) has presented me with opportunities.  Opportunities to change my view of the world, to change the world I live in and to change, for the better, my relationship with God and other believers.  Who knew there was so much wisdom packed into a mere 25 verses of what some think of as a letter asking for a favor.  Wow, there is so much more to Philemon.  I could read it again and again.  That's the miracle of The Bible.  It will speak freshly to me every time I read it.

Watching a sunset  may seem to be the end but it is also the promise of a beginning.  The sun will come up again tomorrow.  It hasn't missed a single day in centuries!

I'm going to wander off and not say farewell to Philemon.  See ya later. Philemon.  It's been more than swell.   I'll be back to Philemon but there are more treasures awaiting me in............now I have to decide what to study next!