Philemon 14-16

Living Bible

¹⁴ but I didn’t want to do it without your consent. I didn’t want you to be kind because you had to but because you wanted to. ¹⁵ Perhaps you could think of it this way: that he ran away from you for a little while so that now he can be yours forever, ¹⁶ no longer only a slave, but something much better—a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you too, because he is not only a servant but also your brother in Christ.