<p>1:7 <i>Already I had much joy and comfort in your love- </i>Paul gives an excellent pattern to us in how he dealt with Philemon, whom, it would appear, had not treated neither Paul nor Onesimus in a Christ-like way. Paul genuinely rejoices in the good deeds of Philemon in other contexts: &ldquo;We have great joy&hellip; in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother&rdquo;. But he goes on to ask Philemon to do this to him: &ldquo;Brother, let me have joy of you&hellip; refresh my heart&rdquo; (Philemon 7,20). The two verses are clearly linked to each other- the words &ldquo;joy&rdquo;, &ldquo;brother&rdquo;, &ldquo;refresh&rdquo;, &ldquo;bowels&rdquo; etc. recur. Paul appears to be saying: &lsquo;I fully recognize, brother, that you&rsquo;ve done many good things, given other brethren joy, refreshed their hearts. But, you&rsquo;ve not done that to your slave, brother Onesimus, neither to me. But I acknowledge the good, Christ-like things in you that I see, in other contexts (:6). But please, expand that love to include me; please, treat me in the same good way you&rsquo;ve treated other brethren; treat me too as a brother in Christ&rsquo;. Now this sets a wonderful example to us. To acknowledge some good things even in our bitterest enemy in the ecclesia. Because they are in Christ. To realize that how they are treating us is not actually how they treat all brethren. And to plead with them as does Paul, &ldquo;for love&rsquo;s sake&rdquo;, to treat us in the graceful way they treat their other brethren.</p><p><i>Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you</i>- See on :20 <i>Refresh my heart.</i></p>