A hot-air balloon goes up as you give up the weight that holds you down.  That's how it is when for a Christian. Christianity is more about giving up and less about going up. Going up is the result of giving up. When we give up, we go up.  When we go up, we look back and realize that it took giving up to go up. 

Paul was willing to give up what he had in order to help Onesimus.  As he gave up, he found himself going up.  Here we are, almost 2,000 years later, reading a letter about what Paul was willing to give up. 

This one statement captures Paul's heart: "If he has wronged you at all, charge it to my account." Philemon 18 

In this letter, Paul makes an appeal, set's an appointment and shares his appreciation.  It was all about helping someone who could do very little for him in return.