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Hey Christian Hedonists, I've found another source of joy!
See it for yourself.
This passage consists of
- a prayer, (vv. 4-6)
- the ground of the prayer, (v. 7a)
- the ground of the ground of the prayer. (v. 7b)
One helpful way to see the logical flow of verses with back-to-back ground statements is to reverse the order of the verses, take out the ground words ("For" and "Because"), and put the word "therefore" in between the verses.
This passage would then read: "(v. 7b) The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, therefore (v. 7a) I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, therefore (vv. 4-6) I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers..."
Paul's prayer for Philemon is grounded in the joy and comfort he received from Philemon's love, a love not for Paul as one might quickly assume, but a love for all the saints (v. 5, 7). This is clear because if "your love" in 7a was toward Paul, then 7b would not make any logical sense for being a ground.
This is not to say that Philemon did not love Paul, the affectionate language Paul uses in this letter seems to indicate that clearly, but rather this says that Paul was able to receive joy from one saint loving other saints! Isn't that fatherly? Paul hears of his spiritual children loving one another as he had so deeply desired them to do, and this gives Paul satisfying joy and comfort, overflowing in a prayer of blessing. The love from one child to another comforts a father's soul.
I just used an illustration of a father, but Paul calls Philemon "my brother" (v. 7). Certainily Paul's joy came from both perspectives as a spiritual father and brother. As a brother, he had such affections for the other saints that when Philemon expressed his love for them, it made Paul joyful. Paul's love for other saints was often very affectionate, so much so that he felt what they felt, feeling joyful when they felt loved. This is exemplified in his letter to the Philippians.
Therefore, just as Paul sought to reap as much joy as possible in the Lord and in his people, so too should we. Are you a shepherd of a flock? Reap full joy when you see your flock loving one another! Our daily lives are not always filled with acts of love toward us from other saints, but acts of love from one saint to another can be seen or heard or read every day!
