One can not read the letters of Paul without being impressed with his--not courtesy, for that word seems almost too shallow; but the depth of his tender, respectful love he held for all his converts and brethren. He speaks of them in terms which we would feel extravagant if we heard them used today. "Whether any inquire of . . . our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 8:23). Now it stands to reason to suppose that those "brethren" were not paragons, any more than true, earnest brethren today; not without fault, not without failure. But he calls them "the glory of Christ." Or, again: "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus . . . to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker, and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in thy house" (Phile. 1, 2). Philemon seems to have been a man of private occupation; Archippus, a member, perhaps, of the household and a minister of God [132] (Col. 4:17); but to Paul they are alike fellow-workers, fellow-soldiers, whom he mentions with a certain pride, as a mother would blushingly tell you of her son's great success. Or look into the last of Romans--the affectionate salutations, the individual and honorable mention, the appreciation, the profound regard, the thoughtful consideration, the love and respect that crops out between the lines--it is refreshing and helpful to us, even as it comes across the centuries. How much more if it had been to us personally! I believe Paul would have a good word to speak to each one of us, and a good name to call us by, for love finds such things. And his respect for us, which amounts almost to reverence, would needs make us respect ourselves more. It is the spirit of the Master, and there is need of it among us.

[TAG 132-133]