(S)

Greetings

¹ This letter is from John, the elder.^[a]

I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.

² Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. ³ Some of the traveling teachers^[b] recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. ⁴ I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

Caring for the Lord’s Workers

⁵ Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. ⁷ For they are traveling for the Lord,^[c] and they accept nothing from people who are not believers.^[d] 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. ¹⁰ When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.^[e]

¹² Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.

Conclusion

¹³ I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. ¹⁴ For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.

^15 [f]Peace be with you.

Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.

(O)

3 John highlights a clear example of a Christian who showed his faith in the power of the Gospel through his actions. Not only did he “talk the talk” but he would “walk the walk”, others could testify to Gaius’ faithfulness and love for the truth ,vs 3-4, and he also did his part by opening his home to missionaries he had never met, solely for the purpose of spreading the good news. He may not have been on the front lines traveling to share Jesus’ message, but he took advantage of the opportunities he had to support what he believed in.

Gaius was a Christian who devoted his time and resources to the Gospel, and like him, we have countless opportunities to express our faith through action. Sometimes we get to directly share the Gospel with people while serving them — buying someone a meal, cleaning someone’s house while they are sick, serving at church. Other times, we have the chance to help missionaries bring the Gospel to the world by hosting them in our homes or sending supplies and financial support.

(A)

Our mission of furthering the Gospel will influence our daily decisions, and our actions will show people that we believe in the power of the Gospel. We have big and small opportunities to spread the Gospel and show what sets our faith apart. Now, it’s up to us to find those opportunities and act on them.

(P)

A couple thoughts to pray on today

• What is one way your life shows that you believe the Gospel can change the world?
• What is one opportunity in your life you can use to make your Christian faith more visible to others?