On a sunny brick patio lined with roses and hydrangeas, a woman sits on a garden bench beside a small black rabbit. The moment she stands up and walks away, he stretches out across the warm green cushion right where she had been sitting, looking entirely pleased with himself. It seems she was only keeping his spot warm all along.
“For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.”
Philemon 1:7 (KJV)
Paul wrote this short letter to Philemon, a friend whose home and kindness had become a place of rest for other believers. In the old wording, the bowels of the saints means their hearts, the deepest part of them. Philemon’s love had refreshed people, and Paul says that knowing it brought him real joy and comfort.
A warm seat is a small thing, yet the little rabbit knows exactly what it means. Love often works the same way, leaving warmth behind in places where others will rest. A kind word, an open door, or a quiet afternoon on a bench can refresh someone more than we realize. May we be people whose presence leaves a place a little warmer than we found it.