2 John: On this Journey, Don't Walk out on God

in case you forgot, this lenten journey is about love... and John speaks of love a lot throughout his 3 letters.

God's commandment to love is unifying. [2 John 1:6]

John reminds us that this commandment has not changed.
it will not change.
that is the message!

---

i begin to wonder if things have really changed after all these years. John was writing to those who were in contact with deceivers + misleaders of the truth. Gnostic leaders led believers astray - claiming that God himself was never 'in the flesh'. their false teaching seemed to blend in with other Christian teachings which created a lot of confusion. sounds a lot like things today.

here is what John had to say: [2 John 1:7-13]

7There are a lot of smooth-talking charlatans loose in the world who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being. Give them their true title: Deceiver! Antichrist!

8-9And be very careful around them so you don't lose out on what we've worked so diligently in together; I want you to get every reward you have coming to you. Anyone who gets so progressive in his thinking that he walks out on the teaching of Christ, walks out on God. But whoever stays with the teaching, stays faithful to both the Father and the Son.

10-11If anyone shows up who doesn't hold to this teaching, don't invite him in and give him the run of the place. That would just give him a platform to perpetuate his evil ways, making you his partner.

12-13I have a lot more things to tell you, but I'd rather not use paper and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk. That will be far more satisfying to both you and me. Everyone here in your sister congregation sends greetings.

interesting.

i'll be blunt. these 'religions' out there... Christianity, Mormon, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc... we are not all the same. Christianity is Christ and nothing else.

if only the church would simply preach Christ first. who knows how the world would change.

i think what John is really saying is this:
WATCH THE COMPANY YOU KEEP!

Does this mean we should shy away from deceivers or non-believers?
I think it means practice DISCERNMENT.
Be in the world and not of it. [i.e. be 'Christ' / emulate Christ among the people w/out compromising our faith/belief.]
We can not turn a blind eye to the lost just because they practice deception or carry with them evil hearts. which one of us was not evil until Christ got ahold of us?
But being All things to All men doesn't entail compromising our belief.

[EDIT: the church needs to scrap all of this 'christian-ese that we use... thank you Eli, for that discussion]

i don't think we have to compromise anyting... we just have to be ourselves.
Jesus' prayer for the disciples was that they would be protected from the evil one. the day we compromise on the simplest of things - the day we open ourselves up to more... it can become a slippery slope.

evil is at our beck-and-call. we have to watch out for that which will lead us on a journey not of love - but towards darkness... away from the honeymoon path of Jesus.

thankfully God loves us no matter what.
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

i am grateful for this lenten journey thus far. it is keeping me close to the love of God. i needed it. so do you. Good luck.

[PRAYER: Jesus - continue to reveal yourself to me in new, fresh ways... may your love abound within me... may i see you and feel you and know you so that i will have the power and ability to preach your message through action + word.]