Scripture Text: Philemon 1:4-7
and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
Philemon 1:6
Philemon was a wealthy Christian from Colossae. He began serving Christ in the Colossian community. He opened his home for a group of Christians to meet there regularly. This made Apostle Paul commend the faith that Philemon has since He saw how dedicated Philemon is to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ and in loving his fellow believer.
Apostle Paul started his letter by commending Philemon because of his faith and love for the Lord Jesus Christ and his co-believers.
The faith and love in our Lord Jesus Christ and the love for co-believers are commended because it is the will and command of God which was emphasized by our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark12:30-31).
Philemon was embodying the two commandments caused by the Holy Spirit's conviction for him to devote his life to Christ and love his co-believers with the love of Christ within him.
Paul also commended him and prayed that Philemon would be an effective evangelist/discipler in sharing the complete sound doctrine of the Gospel, so all of the people will hear the truth that we have in Christ alone.
He also reminded Philemon that everything should be done only for the sake of Christ because He should always be the reason why we are doing His (Christ) work because it is His and all glory should belong to Him.
The type of faith and love that Philemon is giving out to the people gives joy and comfort to the people who experience it. People are being encouraged to continue because of how Philemon values God's people in a way that our Lord Jesus Christ wanted.
All of the commendations that Paul gave to Philemon will draw us back to the fact that all of the joy, love, and encouragement that we are receiving from our fellow believers all came from Christ who transformed Philemon into someone who devoted his life to the works of Christ and loving the people who work with him for the same goal and that is to glorify and please God.
Reflect
Do people of God see you as someone who is encouraging because of the love and joy of God that overflows in you?
Remember
We are to live God's love through our actions and serve as an encouragement to our brethren because we are of one faith and we should be together since we have the same goal and that is to worship God, serve the church, and make disciples for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Read
Colossians 1:4-6; Romans 12:9-21
Pray
I pray to You, heavenly Father, to teach my heart to overflow with love and faith that it would be contagious to my brethren in Christ who are struggling and discouraged. Let my heart, mind, and actions be filled with Your love, so all will see that You are more than enough in my life. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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