Onesimus

Have you ever read the story of Onesimus in the Bible? Maybe you have never heard of this guy. I can tell you that up until a couple weeks ago I had no idea who this guy was. As it turns out, the story of Onesimus is one of the most powerful stories in the whole Bible and it needs to be shared! The story of Onesimus is found in the book of Philemon. Philemon is only one chapter long so it is easy to see why this story is often overlooked but there is so much beauty in these 25 verses!

You see Onesimus was a slave in Colossae and he had stolen something from his master and fled to Rome. The punishment for a slave who had stolen from his master in that day and age was death by crucifixion. Philemon was the slaveholder of Onesimus and also a large supporter of the church in Colossae. Once Onesimus reached Rome we find out that somehow he meets Paul the apostle and through this relationship with Paul comes to know Jesus as the Lord and Savior of his life! With a transformed heart and a new identity, Paul charges Onesimus to return to Philemon and reconcile for the crime that he committed. The book of Philemon is a letter from Paul to his brother in the faith, Philemon, pleading that he would spare the life of his new brother Onesimus.

“But if he(Onesimus) has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.” –Philemon 1:18

The beauty of this little book is that a criminal slave who deserved death was redeemed by the power of the cross and through grace was granted the opportunity for new life not as a slave but as a beloved son of God! Philemon listened to Paul and allowed Onesimus to live! Onesimus later went on to become the pastor of the church in Ephesus and an integral part of the growth in the early church. Talk about a story of redemption, I was blown away by this story that so closely parallels the gospel! What Paul did for Onesimus is exactly what God does for us! He meets us where we are, redeems us, stands in the gap and proclaims, “Whatever they owe, whatever penalty they deserve, charge it to My account!”

GOD IS SO GOOD!

An Update On Life

Hello friends! I hope that this blog post finds you doing well. It has been a little too long since the last time that I posted something on this blog and a lot of fun stuff has happened since the last time I posted! I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the last couple months and give you a glimpse into how life has been for me lately and a general idea of what this next season will look like for me. 

Work: I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Family Legacy! I am learning new things consistently and I always feel like I am a contributing member to the work that is going on around the office. In November I took a two week budgeting trip to Zambia that gave me renewed vision for what I am doing and was an awesome opportunity to connect with the kids I care so much about. Overall it is easy to stay motivated and enthusiastic about the work that I am a part of at Family Legacy.

Church: Outside of work the majority of my time has been spent plugging into the local church! I have plugged into Antioch Community Church here in Dallas and have had some incredible opportunities to serve in different areas through the kids ministry and with leading worship. I am consistently encouraged and challenged by my lifegroup and have found so much life in the church!

Zambia: This summer I will be heading back to Zambia to spend time working with the financials of our camp ministry at Family Legacy! I am very excited to be back in Zambia during Camp Life and I am looking forward to learning more of what my role will look when I move to Zambia full time. I will actually be in Zambia for two periods of time this summer and the dates are May 30^th-June 21^st and July 9^th-19^th.

Relationship Status: For those of you that are unaware, I have had the honor of dating a lovely girl by the name of Rachel Wyatt for almost 11 months now! She has been such a blessing in my life and a steadfast encouragement to me daily. Rachel is a junior at Texas A&M and serves faithfully at an Antioch church in College Station!

Housing Situation: God has provided so faithfully for me while I have been in Dallas in the area of housing. Early on I had the opportunity to live with two different families for some time but recently I moved into a townhome with two other guys my age. I am excited to be in community again with guys in my stage of life and find opportunities to serve the community around us!

Overall, I am learning so much in this season and thankful for the people that I am surrounded by! Thank you for continuing to remain an active part of my life. I have realized that I cannot keep in close contact with everyone but I would love to hear from you, if you think about it please give me a call or shoot me a quick email! (noah@familylegacy.com)