The New Testament book of Philemon is a personal letter of Paul’s written to the book’s namesake.
In his correspondence, the aged Apostle addressed how to respond to secular, everyday-life situations as a believer in a pagan world.
(I will be sharing more from this letter in my next two blogs and you may wish to read this one-chapter book for more background to the posts.)
Today, the focus is how Paul chose to address the situation in general.
As Philemon’s spiritual father, an Apostle of Christ, and an aged man, Paul could have, by position and personal fortitude, commanded Philemon to act accordingly. However, he chose the higher road—for love’s sake—to not command but to ‘beseech’ (KJV).
Beseech means ‘to draw near; to call to one’s side.”
Thus, in my mind’s eye, I can see Paul’s asking Philemon to come along side of him, maybe even putting a loving arm around him in spirit, so the Apostle could make his warm-hearted appeal—and this in contrast to Paul standing over Philemon, an arm’s length away, and giving a cold-blooded order.
Bottom line: Paul chose to act in love.
That’s what love will do in relationships; it will come along side in warmth, serving rather than being served.
Or, in Paul’s own words:
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV).
To act in love will help me remember that how I get to a situation’s resolution is just as important as arriving to that conclusion—maybe even more so.
Remember, love in action can be a choice; let’s do our best to choose it.
