‹ Back

Philemon 1:12 "I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart."

 

Paul is sending Onesimus, Philemon's former slave, back to Philemon as a brother in Christ. Paul has grown very close to Onesimus during Paul's imprisonment, he even says he has become Onesimus' father. So he is sending Onesimus back with this letter, expressing to Philemon his love for Onesimus and his desire that Philemon welcome Onesimus "no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother" (Philemon 1:16).

 

I can't help but help but think of God speaking to us when I read today's verse - "I am sending him to you, sending my very heart". God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, His very heart, knowing that we would not treat Him as a beloved brother. The suffering that Jesus endured at our hands and for our sake was beyond belief, and God the Father suffered the unparalleled pain of a parent watching His only Son be treated with such undeserved contempt and horrific violence. I can imagine God looking around, almost desperately, for the ones who give back to His Son some small share of the love He has showed us. I can see Him taking solace in Mary and Joseph's love, in Jesus' apostles, and in His saints throughout time.

 

This plea from Paul to Philemon speaks to my heart. It reminds me that God is pleading with me to love His only Son like a brother, not to repay Him with my sin or indifference, but to give Him all of my love in a small return for the infinite love He feels for me.