Philemon 1:9
“Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”
When Paul wrote Philemon asking him to forgive Onesimus for what he did, he asked him to forgive him “for love’s sake.” Yes, Onesimus had wronged Philemon in a great way, but for the sake of love he was asked to forgive. Paul did not ask Philemon to forgive Onesimus because it was the right thing to do, but he asked him to forgive “for love’s sake.”
To whose love was Paul referring? I believe in part he was referring to their love for each other. Paul and Philemon were good friends, and he was asking him to forgive because of their love for each other. Yet, there was a greater love about which Paul was speaking. He was speaking about the love of God for the world. Paul asked Philemon to forgive Onesimus for the sake of God’s love. Paul understood that if Philemon would forgive Onesimus, it would show to those who knew about the story the greatness of the love of God and what it can do for individuals.
There is no doubt people who have been gravely hurt find it hard to forgive. To be honest with you, when you hear some of the stories of the hurts of people, you can understand why they would not want to forgive someone. Yet, “for love’s sake” is behooves you to forgive others. There are times when the only way you can forgive someone is for the sake of showing to a world the greatness of God’s love.
Let me ask you, “for love’s sake” can you not put the past behind you? I don’t pretend to know everyone’s hurts or past, but there comes a time when you need to put the past behind “for love’s sake.” Too often people want to keep on bringing up something that happened months and even years ago, but “for love’s sake” you need to put the past behind.
Let me ask you, “for love’s sake” can you not forgive your brother or sister in Christ? There are going to be times in your life when you need to forgive someone so that others can see the greatness of God’s love. When others know what someone has done to you, and you find in yourself to forgive them, it shows to all that God’s love is great enough to forgive the deepest hurts.
Let me ask you, “for love’s sake” can you not receive the one who has hurt you? This may be the hardest one to do, but for the sake of showing the greatness of God’s love, you need to receive the one who has hurt you. I’m not saying that you have to trust them, but I am saying that you need to receive them back into fellowship so they can put their life back together.
“For love’s sake” you need to find in yourself to forgive and receive your spouse. If there is only one reason you should move on in your marriage and put the past behind you, it should be “for love’s sake.” Your spouse may have deeply hurt you, but “for love’s sake” you need to move on and make your marriage work. If you ever loved your spouse, then that love is still in you because “Charity never faileth.” That means for the love that you do have for your spouse, you can move on and make your marriage work.
Sometimes moving on after a hurt can only be done because of “love’s sake.” Friend, life is filled with hurts, but if you can’t find a reason to forgive someone, then forgive them “for love’s sake.” If you have no love in yourself for that person, then for the sake of God’s love forgive them. If you love God, then forgive those who have hurt you so the world can see His great love in you.