A Live Changing Encounter

Who am I? 

Well, I was a slave.  A servant of a noble man.  A good man, but I wanted my freedom.  How was I going to get ahead in life?  Live for myself and what I wanted.  One day,  I decided to do just that and I ran as far away as I could.  I didn't have much, and my master, he had more than enough, so I took a few things from him and started my new life.  Things were going pretty well. I traveled ended up in the big city.  

I thought I had life under control. 

A New life.  A New city. New friends.  

What was I missing?  

After a few months there I met someone who happened to be a prisoner himself.  Why did I talk to him?  Maybe it was because I could relate to him, since I was once a prisoner myself.  I thought I could help him get his freedom just like I had.  Everytime I talked with him he never talked about himself, only about me.  I thought that was weird.  Why did he want to talk about me?  He talked about a new life.  Like I needed one of those, I already had one.  The more he talked the more I heard about things like new life, forgiveness, and grace.  This sounded more and more intriguing.  Why would this “Jesus” he speaks of, who I don’t know,  give up everything to save me.  He was persistent and so I prayed for forgiveness.  I asked this “Jesus” into my heart.  I continued to learn about him and what that actually meant.  

The next several months I continued to come by his house everyday and listen to him teach.  I also met some other people that were there.  The house that he was in was always full of people. These people became some of my closest friends.  

Looking Back

Looking back on those moments I realize I was wrong.  Running away, stealing, and thinking I could start a new life myself was completely wrong.  I started talking about what I had done to my new friend, who had become like a father to me.  I told him my story and he agreed that I should return and be reconciled to my master.  He didn’t want to let me go, but he agreed that was the right thing to do.  

Looking Ahead

In telling my story I found out who my master actually was.  He also knew this Jesus and was active in his local church.  Although I was nervous about what he might do to me I decided it was time to return and apologize for what I had done.  

As I was preparing to leave, my friend had an assignment for me and another person.  He had some letters that needed urgent delivery.  These were filled with instruction for several churches that happened to be close to where I was going.  We agreed and we set off.  I learned a lot on ths trek back home.  We had conversations about life, the way of Jesus, and how to show it to others.  I was excited to return to my old home with a new life and eager to share my story with my master and his church. 

Years have gone by.  I am still here serving my master, not just serving him, but serving Jesus and the saints in our local church.  My hope and prayer is that my story will bring people to Jesus.  I am not wealthy, famous, or even free.  But I am a Child of God serving him everyday.  

Who am I?

My name is Onesimus.