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Thoughts of a saint and slave
by Sam Isaacson
We come to the end of our study through John's three letters with his closing comments:
'I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.' (3 John 1:13-15)
We have actually looked at parts of this book in previous weeks so this week I'm only going to pick out these last few words: 'Greet the friends, every one of them.' This gives us only really one message, but it's desperately important.
The friends
Have a look at John's words and it's clear what's going on. John would like to visit personally, so as he signs off his letter he passes on greetings from 'the friends' - believers who are with him. The literal translation of 'every one of them' in verse 15 is 'each by name' - in other words, this greeting is not some blanket, impersonal greeting from 'all of us', it's pointing towards personal relationships. The apostle John was clearly in spiritual authority over those he was writing the letter to, but that doesn't mean that he's not a close and genuine friend to them. Some significant Christian leaders have started to recommend that leaders shouldn't be friends with elders in their churches because that makes it harder for church discipline, but that's not the model John sets out here. Are you a leader? You must pursue close, personal relationships with the people around you. I'm going to leave it here for this week and would simply ask us to dwell on this verse, and this idea, this week. We should not treat the church like a secular business but like a family. Leaders, this starts with you.
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