Walking in the Truth - Devotions for 2-7-24

3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

            My wife Debra and I have three children, eight grandchildren and one (with another on the way) great-grandchild. We love them all. They are the delights of our life. The only problem with them is that they all live out-of-state and so, for us to see them we have to travel.

            John the Apostle who wrote the tiny books of 1, 2, and 3 John is never mentioned as having any children or being married. But, the Apostle Paul says that Peter and others of the apostles had wives. Maybe John was married, but nothing in history or the bible proves that.

            So, when John mentions in the above verse something about “my children” he is not referring to children he shared with his wife, if he had one. He is talking about people who he considered his spiritual children.

            When John wrote this letter, he was likely in his mid 90’s, the oldest and longest living of the apostles. During his life after Jesus died and rose, he lived for a time in Jerusalem and then for many years in Ephesus, taking care of Mary the mother of Jesus until her death. During those years, he was the pastor of the church in Ephesus and after that, the revered elder of the entire Christian world. He influenced many people to faith in Jesus and mentored many to walk with Christ and become church leaders.

            In this verse the elderly church leader, John tells us what gives him great joy. It is seeing that those he had influenced for Christ in some way, as a spiritual father to them, were walking as believers.

            This says two things to me. That some of those who he knew who had come to faith were not walking “in the truth.” Perhaps they had abandoned their faith to avoid persecution, perhaps they just walked away from the faith. The second thing is that when we have a close relationship with other believers, especially in some sort of mentorship way, seeing them live for Jesus fills our hearts with joy.

            Debra and I have that joy in knowing that our children and grandchildren are believers. We love to hear about their church service when we talk because it means they went to church. We love to hear about other Christian events they go to, bible camps or retreats, because it means they are walking in the truth of Jesus. It gives us joy to know they are believers.

            It gives us joy too when people we have influenced in the faith; Debra, her former students and fellow staff at schools she taught at; and me, people in the various churches I have served, are walking as believers. We just received a letter that gave us great joy. A college age girl, the daughter of a couple whose marriage I performed years ago and granddaughter of a former member of this congregation, is going to Africa on a Christian missions trip this summer. We were filled with joy to know that the faith of her grandparents and parents continues on.

            Generations of faith. What a blessing that is. To watch the faith of one generation flow to the next and next. It gives great joy. And what a joy it is to watch as those we know and have worked with in church service, continue to walk with the Lord and to see their families walking with the Lord too.

            Do what you can to influence people towards Jesus. And rejoice as you watch them continuing on in the faith and as their children walk in the truth as well.

Pastor Gary.