17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want 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 say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. (Philemon)
Often, when we think about things concerning our faith/church/"religion"/Bible, we can come to approach it in a very "objective" way. We even can view the writers like Moses and Paul to be very detatched from what they wrote. But this is never the case. Each and every one were writing from a passionate experience with the true and living God and also as those in close relationship with those to whom they wrote. This is especially true in these personal letters from Paul to individuals (Timothy, Titus, Philemon), which God and Paul really did not mean to be kept secret. We need to view our faith as something we share, seeing ourselves as partners interrelated with one another, brothers and sisters with a web and network of relationships. There can hardly be anything impersonal about it. God's plan is for these relationships to continue to grow and spread, so any believer, anywhere, in any era, has a tie to one another. So even as we read Paul's words separated by time and space, there is a connection we have, a reason to listen, and an obedience to God's instruction.
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