Right Direction

DEVOTION
PHILIMON
RIGHT DIRECTION
Philem 17-21
17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back — not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
NIV
All my wrongs are charged to Christ would seem to be the underlining message God desires for me as well as all his people to see. Surely I could not be expected to accept the charge for the wrongs of others, which alone was for Christ. Now if this was merely a worldly wrong, of which I cannot even think of any, I suppose it is possible for one man to pay the debt of another. This owning part may have reference money or other material goods and so Paul would have been able to repay that kind of debt. That surely requires a great deal of self-sacrifice. I a very small scale, I think I have done this, in times past, when my material picture was more fluid. But to be that open at all times toward all those close to me would require a special motivation from the Holy Spirit within my being. On the other hand should I expect some special compensation from any of my fellow believer? Should I expect any of them to be willing to pay my debt either to society or God? I think not. But how does all this look in the social structure I live in today compared to those days of long ago? Life seems far more complex today than in those days. Society might well be scattered much farther apart in the spiritual realm today as well. I do not think there is the same sense of fellowship today as then. But still this concept stands eternal, exempt from time or place. But I must return to what I believe is the underlining message of this passage. All my sins are charged to Christ, if I own God anything Christ has paid it back in full. It is without question I owe his my very self. I am confident that Christ does not desire any benefit from me, although I am to serve him, I am to serve to Kingdom of God, and in doing so there has to be some benefit to the overall Kingdom. There too is the truth of welcoming back into the fellowship of believers anyone who might well have fallen into some sort of sin, which is considered bad. Not that all sin isn’t bad, but some may seem too offensive to forgive. I do not understand how any man cannot forgive another man, because all of us are not perfect, but I think that happens today. I cannot take part in unforgiveness. Scattered thoughts today, yet I think in the right direction.