It serves as an illustration in a small way of what God has done for us through Christ. Consider what we were. Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3 that we were dead in our sins, that effectively we were slaves to the world, to the devil, and to the desires of our passions. Furthermore, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath. This is a far worse predicament than that of Onesimus. But God, who is rich in mercy, not only forgave us our enormous moral debt that stood against us (Colossians 2:13-14). He also