Philemon 1:7
“For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.”
There is a byproduct for every thing and every action. For instance, if I plant a kernel of corn in the ground, the byproduct is a stalk of corn. If I press the accelerator pedal down on my car, then the byproduct is the car will move. We could go on with illustration after illustration to show that there is a byproduct to every thing and every action.
One of the key ingredients in the Christian life is love. You will never be a successful Christian without having godly love. All the talent in the world will never substitute for love. Talent without love is empty. Love is the key ingredient that all must have if they want to fulfill the will of God for their life.
Yet, we find that love has a byproduct. In the verse above, Paul talks about the love of Philemon. He tells what Philemon’s love produced in others. You must understand that love’s byproduct is never for the individual who loves, but it is for the individual who is being loved. Love is giving and not receiving. When someone exercises true love on others, you will find there are desirable byproducts that come with it.
First, love will give “great joy.” Not only will you find that love gives you joy, but love will also give joy to others. One of the greatest needs of our day is joy. The reason life is not filled with joy is because of the lack of love in our society. Your marriage will never experience true joy until you have true love in it. One of the reasons married couples fight with each other is because their marriage is filled with selfishness. That will never produce joy. When married couples decide to have true love and not a fleshly love, then they will find joy in their marriage. Many homes lack joy because they are filled with selfishness. When you find a home where each tries to make others happy, that is true love and the byproduct is joy. You will never find the joy you want until you start loving others the way that God loves us.
Second, love gives comfort. That comfort comes from a security that you are not loved for what you can give, but you are loved because of who you are. True love is loving someone in spite of what they do, because true love is given to the individual because of who they are. God doesn’t love us because we are good, God loves us in spite of our bad. When you find love like this, it gives comfort to all those around.
Finally, love will refresh others. Being refreshed means it will give energy. When you love others, you will find there will be a vibrancy or life in that relationship. Churches that are filled with true love are churches where there is an exciting atmosphere. Homes filled with true love are homes that are refreshing to be in. You will find true love will recharge or refresh any relationship.
Friend, the byproducts of love are great. If you will determine to start loving people, not for what they can do for you, but for what you can do for them, you will find these byproducts in your life. Who doesn’t want joy, comfort and refreshment? The way to get these is by exercising true love to those around you.