In my last post, I started talking about the little book of Philemon. Not many teach from it, but it has an important place in the body of Scripture. But, I’ll get into that in later posts.

For now, we need to understand this as a letter dealing with relationships. Paul starts by talking about Philemon’s relationship with the church.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

Philemon 3-5 NIV

Paul’s desire is for this young man to walk in the fullness of God’s grace and peace. That’s important to hear. It’s the two aspects of our walk with God.

First there’s grace – the vertical part. Grace is from God the Father to us. It’s the enabling power and presence of God transforming our lives to be what the Lord desires.

Then there’s divine peace. Our problem is that we limit this peace by thinking that it only applies to the relationship between us and God. Yes, we have peace with God in that we were once enemies, but now we’ve been adopted into His family.

However, in his writings Paul makes it clear that this peace affects all of our relationships. It brings all people together in Christ. On the cross, Jesus Christ broke down all the walls that separate us (Ephesians 2:14-18).

Now, in Christ, there’s no room for hatred or prejudice. We’re all a part of one body. The labels of the past are gone. There’s no longer any Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, slave or free. Ethnicity, education, or social status should not be an issue between us as believers because of the cross.

Philemon was commended not only for his faith, but because he had a love for all the saints. That’s the agape-love of God. To remind you, it’s not an emotion. It goes way beyond just having good feelings for others. It’s a decision to actively, positively participate in the lives of others.

This is a way that we need to check ourselves. It’s a point of self-examination. Do I demonstrate a love for all believers? Too often we want to white wash it with the unthinking response, “Of course I love everyone in the body of Christ.”

But, wait a minute. Can you use the biblical definition? Are you willing to positively participate in the lives of all believers? Even those with a different political viewpoint than yours (Yes, I will go there!)? How about those who look different than you or are less educated?

It should be clear that loving others can be very difficult without the grace of God being active in your life. We have no excuse for excluding others from our circle of friends.

Actually, a refusal to participate in the lives of others is a form of hatred. Yes, hatred is not just a decision to be mean to someone. It’s also a refusal to participate with them.

Now that brings up a new question for consideration. Is there anyone I am demonstrating hatred to by refusing to participate in their life?

Showing a love for all the saints is a big job. It requires a deep faith in the Lord and a dependence upon Him for His abundant grace. We all need to prioritize this part of our walk with God.

Question: How well do you demonstrate a love for all of God’s people?

©2025 Nick Zaccardi