Monday, March 16, 2020
This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth—because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work. 2 John 1-11
The sermon illustration about authenticity in being a Christ-follower
is old enough to have a beard.
It’s
a one liner: Just because the farm dog has her next
litter in an old, abandoned stove doesn’t mean the pups are biscuits.
So, one would ask, what’s the point? Well, the points are legion, but the main one
is that biscuits are a lovely part of breakfast, while pups are meant to run
and play with little boys and girls, splashing in streams and making memories
of chasing butterflies, getting muddy beyond belief, and rolling in the
grass.
In connection with what the beloved disciple John wrote, there’s a
big difference between assuming the persona of being a follower of Christ, and
genuinely being a follower of Christ. One of the acid tests is whether or not behavior
truly echoes belief. A person can say
many things about his behavior, but (as grandma used to say) the proof of
the pudding is in the eating.
What we say about what we do means
less than what we actually do. Our true belief
is revealed by our behavior, for whatever a person truly values is what a
person ultimately does.[1]
John’s caution to the elect lady (the church) was the difference
between saying we love, and genuinely loving. And his definition, or acid test, was the
connection with God’s commands. The
difference, for instance, between an obedient son and a disobedient son, both
of whom their father had asked to go work in his fields, was a matter of
obedience. One said he would go – and didn’t. The other said he wouldn’t go – but also
changed his mind and went to work. It
was a no-brainer to label the one who truly loved his father.
Let’s let
Jesus speak the last words for us today about being genuine, and not an
imposter:
“A good tree
can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and
grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person
produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person
produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord,
Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?
Luke 6:43-46
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
