December 7, 2024

Philemon 7 (NIV)

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

The man who knows most of Christ is not the intellectual scholar, not even the saint who spends his days in prayer, but the man who moves in loving generosity amongst his fellow-men.*

I used to wish I could write a tune to go with the words of this verse – until I learned that the literal translation of the last part of the verse is, “the bowels of the saints are refreshed by you.” Not so lyrical!  

But, think “gut” instead of bowels. Sometimes we have a “gut feeling.” In times of extreme stress, your gut churns. There’s that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach – dread and anxiety. Now imagine someone delivering you from all that and replacing it with its exact opposite. How does your gut feel now? Do you feel a song coming on?

Paul was not stingy with his compliments. He lavished his friends with words of appreciation when they blessed him. Often his sweet words were a prelude to a gentle (or not so gentle) reprimand – or in this case, to asking a favor; but Paul’s sentiments were sincere. His words present us with a model of what Christian community looks like. We should encourage others by letting them know when they have encouraged us. Look at the progression of blessing in this example: Someone blessed Paul. He expressed his gratitude. The other person was blessed by Paul’s words of thanks. Thus encouraged, both parties pass on the blessing to others. And it starts all over again!

No man can ever tell how far the blessing of his small acts of kindness . . . may travel.*