A Weak Spot

Philemon

Paul's plea to Philemon to free hi former slave sounds as if Paul did not expect Philemon to comply without a fight. Paul clearly respects Philemon for his spiritual maturity, yet Paul seems to know that Philemon still has a weak spot... a place where Philemon has every legal right to act in a way that might not be the most profitable from a kingdom perspective.

How many Christians today have a similar weak spot? An area in their life that is perfectly legal, maybe even ethically okay, but not necessarily the right path to the Kingdom... sort of like the rich young ruler who confronted Jesus with the question "What must I do to obtain eternal life?" Having met the criteria that the law posed for him, he was caught off-guard by Jesus' request that he go beyond the law and give his money to the poor and follow after Jesus.

Interestingly, we don't really know how Philemon or the rich young ruler finally acted... and their response is truly not important... our's is.