I am thankful for things that are useful.

Scripture: Philemon (verses 1-11)

¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,^[a]

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, ² to Apphia our sister,^[b] to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ When I remember you^[c] in my prayers, I always thank my God ⁵ because I hear of your ¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,^[a]

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, ² to Apphia our sister,^[b] to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ When I remember you^[c] in my prayers, I always thank my God ⁵ because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we^[d] may do for Christ. ⁷ I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

⁸ For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, ⁹ yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.^[e] 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. ¹¹ Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful^[f] both to you and to me.

OK – By the luck of the draw I get to give thanks for something that starts with the letter U.

A quick Google search is not particularly helpful: ugly, umbrella, unexpected, unlucky, unhappy, unattractive, ultimate, uncle, upgrade, upstairs, upright, upset, utterly

But then I remembered a biblical play on words in a New Testament name: Onesimus. (I know, it doesn’t start with a U) But the name Onesimus means “useful.” And in the letter to a believer named Philemon, the Apostle Paul talks about the value of a human life. Onesimus was a runaway slave. He had escaped from his master, Philemon, and had become useful in ministry to the powerful apostle named Paul, as Paul was in prison. And Paul asked Philemon to do Paul a huge favor by viewing this formerly “useless” slave as a brother in Christ.

His “usefulness” was about to change his life.

I thank God for the things and the people who are surprisingly useful in the world.

Prayer

God, help me to see the value in every person I meet. Help me to treat them as useful in your Kingdom. Help me to stand up and stand in for those who need to be seen as a brother or sister in Christ. Amen