If there was any possible doubt about John's emphasis on LOVE as being the key to following Jesus after studying his gospel and then first letter it is quickly dispelled after reading his brief second letter.
"Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning." (v6)
Interestingly, he squeezes his thoughts on love between sections on TRUTH and anti-truth, ie false teachers. By doing so, it is as if John is stressing that, if our focus remains on love, our faith, and our expression of it, will remain a practical one. When the practical focus is lost we slip back into an intellectual mindset, which is far more prone to being swayed by false teachings and not consistent with having "the faith of a child".
This is what I believe John means when he writes "For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ........." (v9) When we start to intellectualise Scripture, doubts creep in, verses start being taken out of context, we start to listen to the misguided opinions of others.
Living in truth and love go hand in hand and will ensure we keep focussed on the goal.
5 comments:
Amen and have a peaceful Christmas
I've come to know that love is not soft and fluffy but can be a hard thing and sometimes confronts us with hard decisions. Living out the love of God in this world truly requires a partnership and trust with God - and plenty of grace.
I found this book/chapter most fitting for a Christmas day reflection. Thankyou for your insights again Mike and for all your input over the past seven weeks. If it wasn't for you this journey may never have even got off the ground :)
May it be said of many of us that we too have been found to be "walking in the truth"!
I have just started reading the biography of CT Studd. Hadn't really heard of him until Pastor David Platt quoted him in a recent sermon. The quote was so powerful, I thought I would like to read the book!
Talk about living out love and walking in the truth--this guy did it. And he definitely had some decisions to make! He sold everything he had, gave away his inheritance, left behind his family and parents, and moved to China to preach the gospel.
This is my favorite part so far: "I cannot tell you what joy it gave me to bring the first soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. I have tasted almost all the pleasures that this world can give. I do not suppose there is one that I have not experienced, but I can tell you that those pleasures were as nothing compared to the joy that the saving of that one soul gave me...Formerly I had as much love for cricket as any many could have, but when the Lord Jesus came into my heart, I found that I had something infinitely better than cricket. My heart was no longer in the game; I wanted to win souls for the Lord."
It breaks my heart and I have cried over this, but the truth is, I have yet to lead one soul to Christ. I pray I will soon know that joy, and I pray I will know it ten thousand times over.
Hi Cindy,
Not sure if you are still reading this blog but thanks for sharing your thoughts from C T Studd and the way it has impacted you. I am totally with you as you admit your failure to bring people to Christ so far in your life and also express this desire to see this changed.
I know how to preach sermons on fishing, discuss fishing techniques with other so called fisherman but really need to learn how to catch fish - and I know this is a team effort. So anyway, thanks for encouraging us to keep our eyes on the mission. Maybe in out next blog we can all share our fishing experiences!!!
Andrew
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