Philemon 1:20

A plea for personal consideration.

The apostle now becomes more personal in his urgency. "Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ."

I. CHRISTIANS OUGHT TO AIM AT THE SPIRITUAL GRATIFICATION OF EACH OTHER . It is not well to make the hearts of the righteous sad ( Ezekiel 13:22 ). The apostle had care and anxiety and sadness enough to depress him, and it was natural he should seek some fresh joy from the obedience of his disciples.

II. THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRISTIANS IS A GREAT SOURCE OF REFRESHING TO MINISTERS . The ready obedience of Philemon would revive the drooping spirit of the apostle, and inspire him with fresh vigor. As the refreshing was to be "in the Lord" as the aim of all a Christian's actions, so we see how constantly the apostle rejoiced and gloried in the Lord, and commended his example to his converts and to Christians generally.—T.C.