A Promise Kept

a recitation of the Book of Philemon

Cris Adams, reciter

The Book of Philemon, written by the Apostle Paul, is a letter to the church of Colossae. Paul’s letter is a beautiful directive to all who read it, both then and now, on how discipleship works, what it looks like in practice and how it is to affect our relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ.

So why recite Philemon? There are two very different reasons for my recitation of this particular scripture. Reason number one: I need to be reminded that God’s people are amazingly diverse. If God’s disciples are to make disciples of all nations, we as a global Church must lay aside our cultural biases.

Reason number two: once upon a time, not so long ago, in a city 35 miles away, I was a member of Grandview Baptist Church, where I was also a faithful attendee of the ladies’ Bible School Class. As part of our many conversations, the class agreed we needed to be more like Sylvia, a core member and teacher in the class. Sylvia is one of those precious Christians who can quote chapter and verse of much of the Bible. This is a known side effect of a life spent in God’s word.

It worries me that so many Christians no longer commit to the discipline of Scripture memorization – including me! So I made a promise to myself, my class, and most importantly, my God, to memorize and recite the Book of Philemon. Tonight, I keep this promise.