I have no complaints about the Bible. I mean, how could I? It’s God’s perfect message to us, revealing a plan so comprehensive and beyond our imaginations that it is big enough to offer salvation to every person. The Bible gives us light in darkness, strength in weakness, and hope in despair.

So, this is not a complaint. It’s a frustration that sometimes surfaces when I’m reading the wonderful narratives and considering the amazing men and women of the history of God’s people.

What happened next? I’d like to know more.

There are so many true stories of people who encountered Jesus and interacted with His will. They came face to face with God on earth, forever sending them in one of two directions—rejection of His offer or acceptance of His grace. And then, they wandered off the stage never to be heard from again as we move to the next moment.

There’s that Roman centurion, honored in both Matthew 8 and Luke 7. His servant was so sick he was near death. He came to Jesus and asked for a miracle. He didn’t even ask the Messiah to come to his house. Just speak it. The centurion knew enough to know Jesus’ word was enough. What did Jesus say about this man? “With no one in Israel have I found such faith.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

What did the centurion do next? Did he defy Roman law and embrace the teachings of this firebrand rural Rabbi from Nazareth? Did he risk his safety, his family’s safety, and the safety of his servants, including the one who had been healed? Surely this gentile man of influence and action had more to accomplish in his story.

In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, we meet an unnamed Canaanite woman. Her daughter was demon possessed. Like the centurion, she was not “in the club.” She was not a Hebrew. Jesus was first focused on the Jews. And yet, her persistence and humility provoked Him to action. She’d take whatever he could offer, like the family’s pet dog waiting for crumbs to fall from the dinner table. “Whatever you give me, I will be grateful.”

Jesus sent her home with a promise that her daughter was already healed. When she got to the house, she found her daughter lying in bed, calm and demon-free.

Do you think she remained quiet? Do you think she said, “Let’s keep this to ourselves. Some folks might not like us going to the Jewish healer for help.”? Not a chance. What difference did she (and her daughter) make after meeting the only One that could legitimately answer her prayers?

I have lots of curiosity about both Philemon and Onesimus. Philemon was a wealthy Christian who lived in Colossae, about a hundred miles from Ephesus. We glean a lot of information from Paul’s personal letter to Philemon. Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves, stole from his master and then fled to Rome, hopefully to be lost in the masses. Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Through miraculous, God-driven circumstances, Onesimus came in contact with the apostle, was converted to Christianity, and began to serve Paul.

But Paul sent him back to Onesimus. You know, a thieving runaway slave in those days walked under a death sentence. Perhaps the last thing Onesimus wanted to do was go back to the scene of the crime. But Paul sent him back. Along with Tychicus, Onesimus brought back a letter from Paul to Philemon. They also, more than likely, brought letters to the churches in Ephesus (the book of Ephesians) and Colossae (the book of Colossians).

You can take about two minutes to read the letter. It’s only 25 verses long. Paul instructed Philemon to change everything about his thoughts toward slaves, suppressing a possible desire to punish and extract understandable justice from his
slave.

So, what happened next? Did Paul make good on his hope to come see them? Just how much of a stir, both inside the church and outside it, was caused by Philemon’s newly found way of treating slaves? Did he free Onesimus? How influential was Onesimus in the church?

I want to know more. There’s always more to the story God writes through us.