Philemon 1:21
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
In this short letter Paul makes an interesting statement about Philemon: "knowing that you will do even more than I say" (verse 21). What is notable is how he expects that Philemon will exceed what is asked. So often in matters of obedience we do just the minimum to comply. This is because we view obedience as burdensome, so we want to do just enough to get by, just enough to not get in trouble. But what if we took the opposite approach to obedience, of trying to do even more than is required? Such zeal would surely produce faster changes in behavior. Are we willing to go the extra mile for purity, to do as much as we can rather than the minimum?
Lord, help me to be eager to obey You.
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
In this short letter Paul makes an interesting statement about Philemon: "knowing that you will do even more than I say" (verse 21). What is notable is how he expects that Philemon will exceed what is asked. So often in matters of obedience we do just the minimum to comply. This is because we view obedience as burdensome, so we want to do just enough to get by, just enough to not get in trouble. But what if we took the opposite approach to obedience, of trying to do even more than is required? Such zeal would surely produce faster changes in behavior. Are we willing to go the extra mile for purity, to do as much as we can rather than the minimum?
Lord, help me to be eager to obey You.