[Truth and Love] the ReflectionÖrnek

Responding in Love

In his third letter, John addresses a believer named Gaius. He calls him beloved and tells him that he is loved and has been the motive of much rejoicing because of his love for brothers and strangers.

John doesn't only commend Gaius. He encourages him to keep up the good work of consistently living in truth and love. Some scholars believe that the people Gaius was ministering to were traveling missionaries taking the news of Jesus Christ to distant lands. Some of them were familiar to Gaius, but others were not.

Other scholars believe that some of these people were not believers; nonetheless, Gaius also helped them. Gaius’ attitude is what we need to take into our hearts. We need to weave into our vision that "No matter who you are, I am going to love you and extend the grace of Christ to you." We do this because we know how much we are loved by God. Our actions show what we believe.

John is telling Gaius that by doing this faithfully to strangers and believers, he is loving them as Christ loved him. How has Christ loved us? He voluntarily gave up His position as God, became a human, a servant, and was obedient to the point of death on the cross.

What if we were known as people who, in Christ, loved both believers and strangers? Wouldn't you love that to be spoken about in front of your church or in heaven before Christ? When we love a stranger, we get to talk to them about the One who loves us. We have a wide-open door to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others and see their eternal address changed forever so they may receive the same blessings and gifts we have received. Our activities reveal our attitudes.

Are we supporting missionaries? Believers are the ones who must support this work, not those who have never heard of Jesus Christ. We are not really abiding by the truth if we fail to demonstrate love for these Christian brothers and sisters physically and financially. We reveal our priorities by where we place our resources.

Lord, please help us to demonstrate love and selflessness. Let us stand firmly in the truth that we are loved. Let us express that by loving believers and strangers consistently and loyally.

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