Philemon 1:8-9,18 (NIV) Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. . .If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.
The slave had stolen from his master and had escaped far away. But then Onesimus had met Paul and become a Christian. Onesimus was now willing to return to his master, Philemon, in submission and regret, so Paul wrote a letter to gently persuade Philemon to accept Onesimus as more than a slave and to put any losses onto Paul's account to pay.
Paul knows he has such sway over Philemon, whom he converted to Christianity, that he could simply command Philemon to follow his request. But Paul wants Philemon to decide on his own, not because he was forced. So Paul appeals to Philemon on the basis of love.
It seems to me that this relationship mirrors our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. God could have set up the world where we humans were all robotic, where we would love God automatically, by force and by design. But God chose instead to appeal to us through love, in the hope that we would respond to the Lord's love with love in return and love for neighbor.
To emphasize this, God sent Jesus, who fulfilled the statement, "Put any wrongs on my account." Jesus gave himself up for us all, taking on sin when he was sinless, in order to pay our accounts.
We may wonder how Philemon responded to this appeal of love and this paid-in-full salvation of Onesimus. The question for us is, how will we respond to the wooing love and paid-in-full salvation offered to us through Christ?
Perhaps some of you do not realize that I have written three books and four video studies, with another new title, "Unison Parenting," headed into online and physical bookstores in September. To learn more for your own learning and for group study, please visit the Cecil Taylor Ministries product page.
The link is: https://www.ceciltaylorministries.com/lessons
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