"It is Finished" (Jn. 19:30) speaks of Closure, finality, a debt paid, once for all, in full. God wants us to fully experience that, in life. Onesimus, a runaway thief, had now become a Christian, but he had a checkered past. It is possible to be saved, yet experientially have things which are not closed, in our thinking. Onesimus met Paul. And through Paul's ministry, he met Christ, Love, Forgiveness, a New Identity, and a New Position. All this is true. Yet Onesimus has something that is unresolved, something he feels guilty about; a relationship that is broken; and a past that he is still running from. He is forgiven but still feels condemned. He is loved, but he still is afraid, the past is gone, but there is no experiential closure. Paul desires that he be not just saved, as wonderful as that is, but liberated and experientially restored, with total closure from that chapter in his life. Interestingly, this postcard is one of the shortest Epistles in the New Testament. Eternal forgiveness can become practical / "effectual" in a moment. By faith, Onesimus will take the note back to his former employer, whom he wronged. Grace, mercy, and forgiveness, when applied to the practical situations of life experientially, brings Closure, and True Liberty. Church history tells us that this was real closure. Onesimus would be restored, and go on to become a pastor and great leader in the early church.
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