Walk In Loving Truth
Opening Prayer
Father, I praise You for being the source of all truth and for sharing that truth with me in Your Word.
Read 3 John 1:1-14
[1] The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. [2] Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. [3] It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. [4] I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. [5] Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. [6] They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. [7] It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. [8] We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. [9] I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. [10] So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. [11] Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. [12] Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone-and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true. [13] I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. [14] I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What is it that makes John so happy?Our passage today focuses on three men involved in conflict over how to treat fellow Christ-followers: Gaius is a man faithful to his fellow-believers even when they are strangers. He brings together the attributes of truth (3) and love (6). Yet the letter implies that he might be vulnerable to doing evil because of the example before him (11). Diotrephes is a self-promoting man (9), a harmful gossip and one who has rejected fellow Christ-followers and forced others to do the same (10); someone whom John wants to confront in order to reveal what is really going on (10). Demetrius is a man that others speak well of (12). He is held up as the example of someone to imitate, who is good and, as such, is from God (11). These three men and their different attributes beg the question: what are we like and what attributes do we want to reflect to others so that we can be those who imitate what is good?
Apply
Re-read 3 John 1-11 and reflect on the good that you want to imitate. Ask God for any help you need to do it.
Closing prayer
Lord, You have told us and shown us what is good. Help me to live that way so that all can see how good You are.
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