Philemon v.20 Yes, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ. Nlt
The Apostle Paul is writing to Philemon who was wealthy enough to have a slave called Onesimus who had run away from him. Somehow Paul had met Onesimus while in chains and this young man had become a Christian through Paul's teaching. Now Paul was asking Philemon to forgive his slave because he wasn't just a slave anymore but was now a beloved brother in the Lord and of a great help to Paul in prison. He was asking Philemon to welcome back his slave as though he was Paul himself!
We know Paul as a great man of God who wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament, who went through shipwrecks, recovered from beatings and just seemed such a hero of the faith. But here we find Paul is now an old man and we see a side of him that reveals how much he needed encouragement just as much as we do.
I take heart from that because God knows we all need encouragement in our walk with Him, especially when things are hard, no matter how long we've been walking with Him. We all need each other, to show the love of God to one another, even when we'd rather not forgive those who've wronged us or someone else, or even someone who has now passed on.
Paul reminds him that God forgave him so would he now please be willing to forgive this man for the Lord's sake. It would encourage Paul if he knew his friend would forgive.
Is there anyone we need to forgive for the Lord's sake because He's forgiven us? Is there anyone we can show some encouragement to today in some shape or form?
Let's be a people who show kindness, who listen, who are there for those who are hurting, who are willing to forgive and who want to find ways to encourage others in the coming days.
Have a lovely weekend.
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