Daily Devo - Tuesday, April 16, 2008

“I hear of your love and of the faith you have
toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.”
Philemon 4b

A few years ago I sat with a married couple who constantly fought over the husband’s mother. She had moved into the couple’s home several months earlier and immediately tension began between mom and daughter-in-law. The husband felt tore between two women he loved and couldn’t choose between them. He wept in my office as he stated he loved both women equally.

But, therein lies the problem—God never intended him to love both women the same. While he is certainly commanded to cherish and provide care for his mother, he is called to love his wife significantly more. He is supposed to love both—but not equally.

The same is true of the church. Scripture bends over backwards to drive home the truth that Christians must love everyone. Romans 13:8 tells us to “Owe no one anything but love”. Love is the basic requirement and the foundation for all our relationships. In the Philemon verse for today Paul commends the man Philemon for the love he has shown to the church in his house. He cared for them, cherished them, and adored them as his beloved—and to a much more significant degree than he did with those outside the body of faith. His love for the body was discernibly greater than his love for nonbelievers. Scriptures teaches a clear and definable inequality regarding love.

Regarding this verse, the puritan pastor William Attersoll once wrote: “We are commanded to love all, but are not commanded to love all alike. We are bound to love the godly and the ungodly, but we are not bound to love the ungodly like we love the godly”. We are tied by a stronger and straighter band of fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. Paul clearly commands this in Galatians 6:10 where he exhorts the believers to “do good to all, but especially to the household of faith”. While we are commanded to love all, but we are simultaneously commanded to love the saints with a peculiar sort of love.

Do you save the best of your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ? Love everyone, but save the best for your spiritual siblings.

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William Attersoll was a Puritan pastor and expositor in the 17th century (1591-1664). Among other works, he wrote a commentary (e.g. series of sermons) on Paul's letter to Philemon.