My Dear Beloved,
As I think of you, I am filled with longing for good things for you. Oh how I want you to be satisfied with undeserved favor, blessing and honor! I so want you to know the beauty and intimacy of a relationship restored to wholeness because you’ve experienced the kindness of Jesus.
I am so thankful for you, Beloved, and how you’re overflowing with joy and gratitude. I see it in your generosity – you gladly share all that you can because you’re delighted and pleased by the generosity that’s been shown to you. Now I’m about to ask you to do something that’s going to take all your resources. I know it won’t be easy. But if you do it, I promise good will come from it for you. You’ll know by experience more of what God is like. You will grow and be stretched and blessed. You’ll be able to do the impossible.
I know you can do it because you’ve done something like it before. It’s just that this time it’s going to be a little harder, it’s going to go a little deeper, it’s going to take a little more. But because I know how sweet your love is, and because I want the very best for you, I’m boldly asking you for this favor. I could force you, or insist that you do it because it’s the right thing to do. But it’s up to you. It’s your choice. Love that’s demanded is not love at all.
And that’s what I’m asking you to do – show kindness to the person who has wronged you. Love him. Welcome her. I don’t want you do it because you’re obligated or because you feel guilty, but because you want to. Because you know by experience that when a person encounters Jesus, they’re changed. They become a new creation, a new person given the chance to live a new and completely different life, a life of such goodness that one human lifespan can’t contain it all.
No matter how good your relationship was in the past, it was temporary. Without Christ, it was certainly going to end in sorrow. But now, no matter how bad it was before, Christ has made it possible for it to give you great joy that will go on forever.
So please, dear one, because you love me, won’t you welcome your offender with open arms, the way you would welcome me? If it costs you something, and I know there’s a good chance it will, charge the debt to my account. I will more than restore whatever you’ve lost. I promise you will be satisfied. You won’t be left wanting. You know I’m good for it because I’ve never held anything back from you.
You yourself have been made new, redeemed, restored. You know by experience what a tremendous gift you’ve been given. This is your chance to honor the One who gladly embraced you by being generous with the grace He gave you so abundantly.
Oh how I want to see you! I can hardly wait. Be ready for me. I’m coming soon.
*my paraphrase of Philemon