October 18 – 3 John 

October 18 – 3 John

Dear Lord God, we come before You in worship and praise, for You are the orchestrator of Your creation.  Be with us as we spend time with You, and guide us to what You want to show us.

This last little letter was also written around AD 90 when John was very old. Note the kindness he shows to Gaius, his “dear friend” whom he loves “in the truth.” He commends Gaius for welcoming traveling teachers into his church and home as they share the news of the other church communities struggling in a hostile Roman-run world. There was no internet back then. It was difficult even to get a letter out to people you loved. These traveling teachers were brave and so necessary as they went from church to church, encouraging and strengthening the believers there. It must have been so refreshing to meet people who loved the Lord Jesus fiercely and told stories of other churches staying faithful to the truth. Thus, it must have struck John to the core to hear that one leader of one church refused to welcome these travelers. Note that John had addressed his initial complaint directly to Diotrephes, the rebellious leader. We should always speak to the person at fault directly first. Now, John needs to let Gaius know that Diotrephes is unrepentant. That’s a hard reality, sometimes. Someone is put in a leadership role, and the position kinda goes to their head. They forget that Jesus came to serve, not to be served, and He expects that from His followers. We need to be careful of leaders who are not servants at heart and help them if they are willing. In any case, this little letter underlines for me the need to be hospitable when missionaries come to town! We are blessed with extra bedrooms, and they are often filled with random folk in need of a bed. I’m so glad this is a little way I can serve others. May we all serve as we can and seek God’s guidance when a leader seems to have gone astray.

My verse: 3 John 2, “Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.”

My response: What a lovely way to begin a letter. Father, help me to be equally concerned that my friends are strong in spirit as well as in physical health. Thank You for John’s beautiful example of caring for another in this letter.

What’s next?

As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below.  Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.