By: Pastor Brandon Hudson
2 John 1:1-13
How would you sum up the teaching of Jesus? In the Apostle John’s second letter, he connects the teaching of Jesus with “walking in truth” and “that we love one another.” John is encouraging a lady and her children to walk in this commandment. What might it look like for us to walk in this commandment — to live in a way that reflects these characteristics?
In my experience, people tend to lean more heavily on one or the other of these two teachings.
If they lean heavily on “walking in the truth,” truth becomes the most important of all pursuits. They desire to know the Bible, teaching it, and encourage others to do the same. The passion for truth is great but it often comes at the expense of loving others; especially those with different convictions, Biblical interpretations, or those in our world not seeking to live the way of Jesus at all. Others can be seen as enemies to the need to retain truth.
Alternatively, others promote “love one another” as the greatest of all pursuits — to seek good relationship, compassion, mercy, and the good of all. The passion for love can result in a decreased value of truth. Truth becomes relative in the higher pursuit of love. One might become more and more willing to abandon Biblical convictions in order to prove their love for others.
In either scenario, the teaching we lean toward sees the faults of the other and reacts by doubling down more heavily on their own position. One can becoming more entrenched on being a person of truth OR love rather than truth AND love.
How do we combat this? How do we seek to be people of deep truth and deep love? What would it look like to be people of truth? People that take study of the Bible seriously? People that hold to Biblical conviction, especially when it’s not culturally popular? At the same time, what would it look like to be people of love? People that care deeply for our fellow humans? People who seek to build relationships of service, compassion, empathy, authenticity? Especially with those outside our circles of comfort — those we would disagree with on many fronts?
The teaching of Jesus, the command of Jesus, not a new command but from the beginning, is to love one another and walk in truth. Lord Jesus help us move down the path of becoming these people, more and more each day. Essentially, help us become like you.