We Owe Ourselves to Christ
A. Maclaren, D. D. Philemon 1:19 I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to you how you owe to me even your own self besides. Does not Christ speak to us in the same language? We owe ourselves to Him, as Lazarus did, for He raises us from the death of sin to a share in His own new, undying life. As a sick man owes his life to the doctor who has cured him, as a drowning man owes his to his rescuer who dragged him from the water and breathed into his lungs till they began to work of themselves, as a child owes its life to its parents, so we owe ourselves to Christ. But He does not insist upon the debt; He gently reminds us of it, as making His commandment sweeter and easier to obey. Every heart that is really touched with gratitude will feel that the less the giver insists upon his gifts, the more do they impel to affectionate services. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. WEB: I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides).