Kathemerinosatos

Philemon 1.18

If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account

Paul continues with his plea for the forgiveness of Onesimus. In this verse, Paul continues by asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as he would do to himself. From the phrase, ´if has wronged you in any way or owes you anything´ we can deduce two things. First, Onesimus wronged Philemon by running away from his master which was a serious offense. Second, Onesimus might have owed Philemon in two ways; 1. Absence from work might have severe costs on the master. 2. It is possible that he might have stolen some money from his master to fund his trip to Rome.

Paul is aware of these possibilities and he offers to pay the debt on behalf of Onesimus. This is a serious commitment from Paul. He understood that true reconciliation comes with paying up the debt. Two takeaways for today are; 1. Reparation is important for sustainable reconciliation. 2. In mediation one has to go an extra mile of sacrificing to pay the debt