3 John 1 --- 1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
After talking with the Lord this morning we headed out for our trip through 3 John. It's always exciting to start a new journey!
Things open the same as 2 John, where it's addressed from The Elder. Unlike the last letter though, we're given the name of the recipient, Gaius. The name Gaius was quite common during this time, so it's not known if he is the same Gaius mentioned in Acts 19 & 20, 1 Corinthians 1 or Romans 16.
What jumped out to me today, is this wasn't just addressed to Gaius, it was addressed to the BELOVED Gaius. John always has such a way of conveying the love of God through his writings. You can almost feel it just by reading the words. To the beloved Gaius.
Beloved in the Greek is agapētos and means: beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love.
Beloved: dearly loved
Esteemed: held in great respect; admired
Dear: regarded with deep affection, cherished
Favorite: one that is treated or regarded with special favor or liking
Worthy: having worth or value
For our society and culture greetings are barely even a formality anymore. We share greetings but most times it's just noise waiting to be concluded so we can commence to the real reason we're having to communicate. This isn't true for everyone, but I've been guilty of throwing out a "How are you doing?" as a nervous auto-greeting. Also guilty of someone asking, "How are you today?" and just auto responding, "Good!". Sadly, we're just so used to the microwave mentality of quick and hurry in about everything now.
When you stop and just unpack this one little word you can see the command to love one another as I Jesus loved us, being done. Today we could easily dismiss it as just an opening, just a formality, but even in the Greek word itself, Agapetos, we find its root word is Agape, the selfless, sacrificial love of God.
Something as simple as slowing down long enough to be genuine in greeting a brother or sister in Christ, could utterly baffle our modern-day world that desires and covets selfish go, go, go, give me, give me, give me, now, now, now. How many people are drowning in a crowded loneliness today, desperate to be seen or heard, but most people, including Christians, can't be bothered to slow down long enough for a genuine interaction?
So, if you want to fulfill the command we're given from Jesus and in many other places in the Bible, to love one another, know you can start just with a simple, genuine greeting. Remember this comes from agape selfless love, so you must be abiding in Him and He in you to genuinely do it. It'll take a sacrifice of time and self for sure. Setting aside your agenda and allowing God to love through you, by putting Him and others first.
I know life is beyond busy, with demands pressing in from every direction, therefore it's vital we prioritize spending time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer, so that we will be filled with the agape we need. What's amazing is God gives us commandments yet gives us Himself so we can fulfill those very commandments! So, it's not a question of having what we need to do it, it's a question of whether we make it a priority to seek Him, abide in Him and follow Him.
That's it for today. We stop our journey here and I genuinely ask, how are you doing? If there is anything you need prayer for, please reach out. You aren't alone.
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