<p>1:10 <i>I appeal to you for my child Onesimus- </i>The fact that the Lord intercedes for us means that we should be open to others interceding with <i>us</i> on behalf of another. Paul explains what I mean. In one of his countless allusions to the Gospels, he speaks of how he &lsquo;beseeches&rsquo; or 'appeals' Philemon to be generous and gracious to his runaway slave Onesimus. Paul uses the word <i>parakleo</i>- well known for its repeated use in the Gospels to describe how the Lord Jesus is our <i>parakletos</i>, our comforter, interceder, beseecher of the Father for us. Surely he means us to get the connection. As the Lord Jesus beseeches / intercedes the Father for us, Philemon included, so we, and Philemon, should be open to others beseeching <i>us</i>- and respond with a like grace and lavish response. And there&rsquo;s another allusion to the Gospels in the very next verse of the letter to Philemon.</p><p><i>Whose father I became in my imprisonment- </i>Paul had presumably converted or baptized Onesimus in prison. And yet he uses the same language of 'my child' regarding Timothy, whom he did not baptize, but spiritually influenced to a formative extent. Perhaps Onesimus had been baptized and was a brother in Philemon's house church. But he had run away and ended up either in Rome, or in prison there. And Paul's outreach even in chains had reached this runaway slave, just as it reached the Praetorian guard (Phil. 1:13). Those who feel shut in and unable to do much preaching can take great encouragement from how Paul managed to witness.</p>