Scripture:
2 John vs. 5
And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Observation: The Apostle John writes his second letter, this time to a woman he affectionately calls , dear lady. She is a matriarch of the Christian faith in her home. She has led her children to put their trust in Jesus. Now John challenges her to lead them to keep walking in the truth and leading those she influences to walk in the truth. John communicates the importance of love and then further defines a love for God by obeying the commands of Christ. John is repeated the words of Jesus form John 14:21. “He who has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…”
Application: I watched a sports clip of a college runner who fell down with one lap left in the race. All seemed lost as the other three runners continued at their pace. Instead of giving up, the runner got up, kept running and ended up winning the race. I can’t help but think of this when I read this passage. John communicates the importance of not only starting with faith in Christ, but also finishing with faith in Christ. The Christian faith is exemplified by loving Him and loving others. A Christian that doesn’t continue in love, according to John, is deceived and is not in Christ. A few steps…
1. Start with the love of Christ.
2. Continue in the love of Christ by obeying Him.
3. Finish strong by loving until the end.
Prayer:
Father, help me remember the importance of continuing in your love. Give me endurance to love and finish well. May I not separate my intellectual belief in you from walking in obedience to your commands. Obedience is when I best demonstrate love for you and others.
Here is the clip of the race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOYGYEe1Mw
-Jason Smith