I was reading the book of Philemon in the Bible today. It’s a letter sent by a preacher called Paul to his friends, and the personal first few sentences are brimming with warmth and inspiration. Some of the ways he addresses his friends include:

*’dear friend’

*’fellow worker’

*’brother’

*’sister’

*’fellow soldier’

*’partners in the faith’

*sharers of good things

I find it beautiful that to Paul these three individuals were so many things – fellow soldiers when life felt like a battle, friends to share the highs and lows and day-to-day with, a team to work alongside, family to be himself around, fellow believers who understood him… there is so much love in this short text! I pray that I can be these things to others, and wonder what I am missing when I am not.

 

It is also clear that Paul wants many good things for his friends and is so glad when he sees that they have them. These include:

*grace

*peace

*love for each other

*faith in Jesus

*understanding

It makes me wonder, what do I want for the people in my life? What do I pray for for them, and what do I long that they have? Do I see when they do have these things, and am I thankful?

 

Perhaps the sentence that stands out for me the most in this first part of Paul’s letter is this one:

‘Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the heart of the Lord’s people.’

What an amazing thing to have written about you! You have refreshed people’s hearts. I want to be be that person, a refresher of hearts!

 

I was so inspired by this short section of the letter that I thought I might read on, so, over the next few days, maybe I’ll post about it again. In the meantime, I pray that all my lovely readers will have grace, peace, and love for others in the week ahead, that you will refresh and be refreshed 🙂

 

P.S. A song to listen to, and a picture taken by my brother…