God Willing, God Willed

What would it have sounded like to Philemon when Paul suggested that the thievery and flight of his slave, Onesimus, happened as part of some divine plan so that he might be received back by Philemon not as a slave but as a beloved brother? His initial evaluation might have been, “NONSENSE!!” But this dance of human will and divine will that Paul alluded to, places a demand on us to be willing to look back on circumstances, even difficult ones, and say, "God willed."

The preacher is grateful for insights from John Calvin.