For Love’s Sake
Philemon 14 (NKJV)
But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
In Roman times a wealthy man named Philemon lived in the Colosse region of Asia Minor. One day his slave Onesimus ran away after stealing some money. Onesimus trekked to Rome, where he met the apostle Paul and was converted to Christ. Paul sent him home with one of he shortest and most personal letters in the Bible, The letter to Philemon. In it Paul exhorts Philemon to consider Onesimus “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Philemon 16 (NKJV)
For Love’s Sake
Paul hints that he would like to have Onesimus helping him in his ministry, but stops short of using his authority order Philemon to comply. The Plea for Onesimus. Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Philemon 8-9 (NKJV)
The Lord longs for us to obey because we want to, not because we have to. Some religions codify what must be done to others, but true charity comes from the heart. Let’s serve God faithfully because we long to please Him everyday.
For Love’s Sake
2018 IS A YEAR TO BELIEVE
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