Marking Time

Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. (Philemon 1:8-16 ESV). Sometimes it is so easy to feel as though our lives don’t matter. We catch ourselves just marking off another day in the calendar. These can be miserable days for sure. I don’t know if Philemon felt that way; however, I know that the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that he should go back to his former master and continue in service to Onesimus. Surely he must have felt that his service to the apostle was much more important than going back and facing the drudgery of his former life. That old familiar routine may have been more than he wanted to experience again. It’s easy for us to think the same. We find ourselves at a place believing that our careers are at a dead end, or we simply get caught marking time. We are in such a period of transition. It would be easy to put up a calendar and watch the days slip by without recognizing the great gift of God for today. Regardless of what tomorrow might promise, today’s gift is sure. God has placed us here and now to bring glory to him. I love the story told of King Henry III of Bavaria in the eleventh century. He had grown tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at as local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king." "I understand," said Henry, "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you." "Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient." When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we'll rule together with him.