Peace
be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.” 3 John 1:15
There is much to glean from the
Beloved Disciple regarding Building
Lasting Relationships. Much of what
we learn is from the manner in which he speaks to this church on the verge of
trouble.
1.
Speak
In A Friendly Manner
In this last verse in John’s
letter, John expresses to us where his heart was in this matter. This is an intimate closing. His goal was not to destroy the church, ruin
Diotrephes or create a war among the believers.
Therefore, he closes with the beautiful call to peace. His goal was to reestablish peace in their
relationships.
Have you ever met someone who
just could not live in peace? Wherever
they are they seem bring conflict with them?
Most of us know that such a person is often one who cannot find peace because they are never at peace; either with themselves or God.
The beginning of peace is a found
through faith in Jesus and the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, since we have been made right in
God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our
Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1
Jesus said, “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
(NIV) The offspring of God perform His
work. How do you know when you are at
peace with others? Well, you know when
there is an absence of jealousy, revenge, resentment and bitterness of spirit
and a presence of good will, kindness and love.
But there is also a level of trust that accompanies peace as well. John could say what he said to them
straightforwardly without them questioning if he loved them. Hard words are often necessary but they do
not have to be delivered in a critical spirit to accomplish their purpose. You can almost hear the pain in John’s heart
as he writes to correct those he loved so much.
Friends speak in a friendly manner.
Notice also in the last verse of
Third John how John mentions the importance of greeting each other by name as
friends. The way to restore a broken
relationship is by being friendly and personable. In this last verse we see that this
friendliness is reciprocal in nature. In
other words, it’s not just one-sided, but shared. When someone says hello to you, you are to
reciprocate and say hello in return.
When someone hugs you, you are to hug them back. It is the nature of friends to enjoy sharing
friendship.
In closing our look at Third
John, consider the friends in your life.
Are you able to go through conflict and keep a friend? Do you tend to write someone off rather than
work through a problem and in so doing deepen your friendship? Is there a friend you know you need to
confront to clear the air about something that bothers you?
We see that the people in John’s
life represent those we deal with everyday.
Good advice an Handling Relationships from the Beloved Apostle.
Scripture to Claim:
The one who loves his brother abides in the
Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 1 John 2:10
