Good Goodness
Scripture Reading: Psalm 113; Jeremiah 37-39; Philemon
I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
Philemon 14
Paul could have made demands on Philemon. He could have insisted that he treat Onesimus with kindness and forgiveness. In all likelihood, Philemon would have obeyed. But strict obedience was not what Paul wanted. He desired goodness that flowed from a heart of love—a heart reborn by the Spirit and alive in Christ.
When I read this verse, I think about when my boys were young and I would make them apologize to one another after a fight. They would do it, but begrudgingly. A reluctant “sorry” would eke out, and they would feel as if they had met the minimum requirement I set.
I was never satisfied with that, though sometimes it was the best I could get. What I really wanted was a heartfelt apology—a repentance that came from within, not a forced confession.
That’s the kind of goodness Paul longed to see in Philemon. Not goodness by compulsion, but goodness that springs from love.
May that be the kind of goodness that marks our lives as well.
