FOLLOW-UP ON THE RECONCILED PARTIES Posted: 04 Nov 2013 03:00 AM PST Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you (Philemon 21-22). Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome. In this situation, the prison was more like being under house arrest. He was able to receive visitors and write letters and conduct ministry to a limited extent, though he was not able to come and go as he pleased. But he knew that eventually he would be released. His plan was, upon his release, to make the thousand mile journey from Rome to Colossae and spend some time with his friend, Philemon. He wrote, in effect, that this brief letter did not end his connection with Philemon and Onesimus and this situation. He planned to come and spend time with Philemon. Reconciliation is often a process. It takes time to achieve. Sometimes people will take a couple of steps in the direction of reconciliation, and then they will falter. There needs to be accountability. There needs to be follow up. If you have helped two people mend the fence and restore a broken relationship, then keep an eye on them. Keep them under your care. Not in an intrusive way; just be willing to be there for them. If you have experienced reconciliation with someone, follow up on the relationship. Check on them. Give them a call. Spend some time with them. Most of the time, reconciliation is not a one-and-done event. It’s a process. It takes time. It takes follow-up. It takes accountability. Because of Jesus, Ken Schroeder
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:13:30 +0000
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