Philemon 1:12-14

 :12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is sending my very heart,

:13 whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel;

:14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.

 In thinking of the wisdom that Paul used to persuade Philemon to receive back Onesimus, it is so encouraging to know that You will provide the spirit and wisdom needed for us to handle any situation through Your love and grace.

 Paul could have demanded that Philemon would receive back Onesimus, who was a slave of Philemon that had run away after wronging him in some way, but instead he persuaded him to take Philemon back as a brother in Christ. Paul was also willing to take any debt that Onesimus owed Philemon.

 In verse :14 basically Paul was asking Philemon to have a willing heart to understand that Onesimus was a different person now, not the same slave that ran away. He had come to Christ and was now a beloved brother (Col 4:9) in the Lord.

 Through Your Spirit, Father and through Your truth we are able to overcome stubborn emotions that cry out to cling to past hurts or wrongs that others have done to us. We are able to believe that yes, a person truly has changed and become a new creature in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) and receive them in their conversion as such.

Your Spirit of grace and love empowers us to forgive and it is not because we are under “compulsion” but because You are extending grace to them through Your Holy Spirit that is working in us by changing our own hearts.

 Forgiveness is beauty, purity, and freedom.