"a Love Letter From Jesus."

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES

(Philemon 1:10-16) (10) "I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:" (11) "Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:" (12) "Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:" (13) "Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:" (14) "But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly." (15) "For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;" (16) "Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?"

(Philemon 1:17-21) (17) "If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself." (18) "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;" (19) "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." (20) "Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord." (21)" Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say."

(John 17:5-8) (5) "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (6) "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word." (7) "Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee." (8) "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me."

(John 17:9-11) (9) "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." (10) "And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." (11) "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."

(John 17:24-26) (24) "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." (25) "O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me." (26) "And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."

PREFACE SUMMARY

Dear valued reader, I am pleased to share a message with you about the boundless love of God for His creation, as revealed in the book of Philemon. This message is titled "A Love Letter from Jesus," and it draws a parallel between Paul's intercession on behalf of a runaway enslaved person named Onesimus and the prayer spoken by our Lord in the book of John chapter fourteen.

This message came about as I thought about all the things we encounter on life's highway, and can you agree that It seems as though we are being prepared for something greater that is somewhere in our future?

Dear reader, it is an undeniable fact that there is a supreme being behind the vast universe, who created every living and non-living thing. This creator is not only responsible for the universe, but also takes a profound interest in his most incredible creation - man.

The Book of Philemon, written by the Apostle Paul, is a letter that demonstrates the love of God through the story of Paul and a runaway slave named Onesimus. In the letter, Paul urges Philemon, a wealthy Christian, to receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ rather than a slave. This act of forgiveness and reconciliation highlights God's love for all people, regardless of social status or past mistakes.

Similarly, Christ's love for his church is evident in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he asked God to receive his church in the same way he would receive him. This prayer shows the depth of Christ's love for his followers and his willingness to sacrifice himself for their salvation. It is a powerful reminder of the love that God has for his people and the lengths to which he will go to demonstrate that love.