Realize that Philemon is a source of apostolic joy and comfort. Nonetheless, Philemon needs to deal with some things in his life. He needs to be growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus; he needs to be conforming his life to the truth of the gospel. It seems that Philemon has a rather shocking ethical blind spot, as he is contemplating the risk of putting a fellow Christian into the cruel bonds of slavery. It is a rather shocking thing for a Christian to want to do, and he has an ethical blind spot of great significance. And the thing for each of us to do is to ask, to wonder, where mine is. Where is my blind spot? Where is that character flaw that I have not done anything about? Where is that tendency of indulgence that I just excuse? What about that sinful attitude or action that is affecting people, hurting people, making a mess of parts of my life. As we reflect on our lives as marriage partners, as parents, as children, as friends, as neighbors, as church members— here is the question: “Where is the glaring inconsistency, indulgence, character flaw that would cause others, maybe with some justification, to challenge our Christian maturity? We will learn how to apply Philemon to ourselves if we discover our blind spot.1
Richard D. Phillips
7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.