There
are places that encourage your socks off.
Because we are connected to God and have a relationship with Him, we see
things differently. Further, there are
things that excite us.
That
is what happens when we see God at work in the lives of the people around
us. Especially when the people we see
are those that we have a stake in their lives and care about them. That seems to be where this passage has us.
2
John 1:4-8 NLT
How happy I
was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth,
just as the Father commanded. 5 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. 6 Love
means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one
another, just as you heard from the beginning. 7 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. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard
to achieve. Be diligent so that you
receive your full reward.
This
passage begins with a statement about what one person saw as a bright light, a
huge testimony and something worthy of celebrating. The word was that he saw young people living
by faith. What they had been taught and
what they had seen in their parents and teachers was now seen in their lives. Their lives are now a sight to see for those
who are interested in following Jesus.
He
moves on to talk about something Jesus taught them very well. It is about loving people with a genuine and
compassionate love. This is what takes
people to the next level of following Jesus and influencing people to do the
same.
It
begins with loving Jesus and obeying His words.
That love makes a difference in our lives and in others. That love leads more people to experience God
and His love.
The
first statement is connected to the second statement. Do you get that? When you see people living by faith it is
linked to the fact that the love of God has encompassed their lives in a real
way. That is what love does to us and to
those who see it in action.
Our
church has stood on the calling of demonstrating
the love of God to our community for the last seven and a half years. That is not an easy thing to do all the time,
yet when we have been overcome with the grace God has given us as well as the
2nd chances God has offered us, there is little more that we can do other than to
give it away to others.
My
prayer is that people will be touched, challenged, wooed and changed by the
love God has for them. I believe that is
the point where people also begin to serve and to live by faith. God’s love leads to living by faith.
The
writer of this book goes on to warn these people and us of those who are
deceivers. You see, inside every place
are people who twist what they hear, complain about the good things and try to
sway people to go the wrong direction. We
not only need to be aware of such people, but we can do something about
them. We can out love and out live
them.
Be
diligent to let your love be real and to let your faith be strong. Then God will continue to change you and
change others, and the circle, the sharing of God’s love, will continue with
excitement and strength.
Comments