A look at 2 John - Part 1

Over the next few days I am going to be reflecting on John's second letter. It is short, very short. It is easy to read and because of that we tend to blow by it. I know I have. But, over the past couple of days, it has arrested my attention. So, I'm going to share a few thoughts with you. Here is part 1:

“Can’t Have One Without The Other”

2 John 6 – “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.”

Love is such a weird concept. Some people get starry eyed and mushy feeling when they think about it. Romantic dinners, boxes of chocolate, and red roses. For some it is little notes. For others, love is sharing a long walk at sunset. There is also the group of people that try to avoid love. It feels uncomfortable. It requires too much energy. They’re afraid they won’t be loved back. Maybe they were hurt or abused by someone in their past and they have decided they would never get that close again.

Love is easily confused. It is confused with sex. It is confused with being taken advantage of. It is also confuse with selfishness. Selfish love says “I will love you if…” Rather than being concerned about the good of another, it is being concerned only with self.

Interestingly enough, love is also used to score a zero in tennis matches. Some claim that the term “love” comes from the French word “l’oeuf” (which means egg). The zero on the scoreboard looks like an egg. Whether that is the truth or not, I have no idea. But nonetheless, the word love covers a lot of ground in our English language.

So the question becomes: What does John mean when he tells us that we should love one another? It is probably safe to say that he doesn’t mean we should be out trying to beat everyone in a game of tennis. But, what does he mean? And most importantly, what are the truths in this little letter that are vital for us today?

We will look at these questions tomorrow and Saturday... but for now, think about this for a minute:
1. Think for a moment about someone that loves you. How you KNOW that they love you.

2. How do others KNOW that you love them? How do you express love?