Philemon 1:19 I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to you how you owe to me even your own self besides. Have not all of us received benefits? Have we paid our gratitude? I do not mean how much you owe to the grocer, baker, and landlord; but how much do you owe to yourself, to humanity, to God. I. God is our Father who cares for us, and we therefore owe SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL when crosses and tribulation come. Tribulations borne with resignation shall mellow our nature, and be as a mould to fashion our character like unto Christ. II. Do you not owe to yourself and to your fellow men the DOING OF DUTY? As the men who built Jerusalem, each repaired the wall before his door, so let us each do the duty that lies next us. We are not like the spectators in a theatre. We are the tragedians; we are the actors; daily life is our stage; Christ, and the angels, and our fellow men, are the spectators. Let us do our duty manfully, as Christ did. Do it because it is right; and remember that duty well done will honour us at the judgment day. III. PAY YOUR DEBT OF RELIGION TO THE WORLD. When passing Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral, if I have a quarter of an hour to spare, I always enter the sacred building and walk reverently over the graves of the good men of the past, and while looking on their partly obliterated names, I am inspired by their example to pray that my life may also be beneficial to my fellow men. What can be grander than a life which exhibits true Christian religion! Cannot you make yours such a life? Is it not a debt you owe to your neighbour? Pay the debt by embodying in your life the eternal truth which Christ has given to the world. (W. Birch.) Parallel Verses KJV: I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. |
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