Something I read this week was such an encouragement for me, and I want to share it with y’all because I hope it encourages you too. I was reading Philemon (crazy right. I had never read Philemon and I’m surprised I even did, but it was awesome), and the devotional that went along with it talked about reconciliation, and that the power of Christ wipes clean our pasts. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, he is encouraging Philemon to forgive a man named Onesimus who was once Philemon’s slave, but wronged him and ran away before becoming a Christian. Onesimus wanted reconciliation with Philemon. This Biblical example of relational reconciliation is just a smaller picture of God’s reconciliation with us. (If you don’t know, reconciliation means restoration). In Philemon verse 17, Paul asks Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as he would Paul. That meant that Onesimus would most likely be joyful to see Paul, having no grudges at all. How awesome it is to think that the Lord joyfully draws us back to him, joyfully welcomes us back to Him, even after everything that we try to do on our own. Even when we flee the Lord and try to figure out what’s best for ourselves, God will always draw us back to him, restoring our relationship through what Christ did on the cross. The second encouragement I got from this letter is that God’s work is greater than our pasts. Because of being reconciled back to God, we have no reason to be embarrassed because of sin we might have fallen into in the past. I am the worst at this. As soon as someone starts talking testimony or things I’ve gone through I want to run away like it’s the plague. This text and devotional were sweet reminders that even after the sin I’ve fallen into, I am still reconciled, restored, forgiven, and made holy in Christ. I hope that these truths are just as encouraging for you as they were for me.