---REMOVING THE BARRIERS ~~

--"He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord."
---(Philemon 1:16)

---I SAW Mary every Tuesday when I visited "the House"---a home that helps former prisoners reintegrate into society. Fresh out of jail, fighting addictions, separated from her son, she lived on the edge of society.

Like Mary, Onesimus knew what it meant to live on society's edge. As a slave, Onesimus had apparently wronged his Christian master, Philemon, and was in prison. While there, he met Paul and came to faith in Christ (v.10). Paul sent him back to Philemon with a letter urging him to receive Onesimus "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother" (Philemon 1:16).

Like Philemon I had a choice to make: Would I see Mary as an ex-convict and a recovering addict--or as a sister-in-the-Lord? We were privileged to walk together in our journey of faith, and I'm glad I chose to see her as my spiritual sister.

It's easy to allow society's walls to separate believers. But the Gospel of Christ removes those barriers, changing our lives and our relationships forever. ~~

--"God Hears Her"/ Karen ~
--- ---"RESCUE" --/ Lauren Daigle / <https://youtu.be/9h-FmatSk4k>