Title: Gaio's Love
(Lecture 2) 3 John 1:3-8 Gaius' love
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I am very glad that the brethren come and testify of the truth that you have, that you walk in the truth.
There is no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. Beloved, whatever you do to the brothers and the strangers, you are faithful, and they testify of your love before the church. For the sake of the Lord, they go out and accept nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to receive such ones, that we might also labor together for the truth (3 John 3-8).
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As we said last Wednesday, the Bible puts the meaning of the believer's well-being in the soul. That is, the well-being of the soul is regarded as well-being. Therefore, in terms of the world's standards, it is unfortunate and difficult, but if it is beneficial to the believer to think, depend on God, and hope for the kingdom of heaven, it is a good thing for the believer, and it should be regarded as God's good work. Therefore, the world cannot properly evaluate the believer's life. Because they do not know the meaning of God's goodness and success. Therefore, it is wrong and foolish to set your mind on such evaluations from the world.
In the text, the elder speaks of the joy and joy that comes from Gaius. “Brothers, come and testify to the truth that you have, I am very glad that you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth” (verses 3 and 4). The joy was that Gaius was walking in the truth.
So, what was your walk in Gaius' truth? As verse 5 says, “Beloved, whatever you do to your brothers and strangers, you are faithful.” What he did to the strangers was the proof that Gaius was walking in the truth. What would you do to a stranger? Wouldn't it be nice to welcome them and welcome them?
You have to think deeply.
What Gaius had in mind was revealed by welcoming the stranger. It is because the heart that welcomes the stranger is the proof that he is truly grateful for his love and grace.
But the question is, who can be called a ‘stranger’? When we talk about strangers, we tend to think of them as homeless wanderers, but if we do, we will eventually misunderstand what we do to the truth as a matter of welcoming and welcoming beggars.
Matthew 25:40 says, “As you did it to one of the least of them, you did it to me.” The least of the people mentioned here should not be understood as those who are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, rather than the poor.
When Jesus sent his disciples as gospel witnesses, he did not send them as great ones, but as very small ones. In Matthew 10:10
As it is said in the book, “Take no pockets, or two coats, or sandals, or a staff, for travel, for the worker deserves his food.” The disciples were sent as thieves.
Why are you sending your disciples in this way? It is to distinguish the world's view from the sky's view. If we welcome those who eat them, it is evidence that we value the gospel they preach. In other words, in the gospel, we saw great and precious things that cannot be compared with those of the world. Now that we have seen the precious contents of the Gospel, we cannot help but honor those who preach the Gospel.
It is conceivable that Gaio had this kind of heart when he welcomed the stranger. It's not like it's pitiful and it's not a treat. If we treat people with pity, shouldn't we say that we are doing everything we do to help the poor in the truth? In other words, should unbelievers even help the poor be seen as acting in the truth?
What the stranger proves is that the believer is not a person who will stay in this world. It is the believer who stays for a while and then returns to our homeland. In this sense, the believer is a stranger. Therefore, the stranger does not ignore the stranger. You will be welcomed and welcomed. So, in Gaio's heart, who received the stranger, he sees the faith that he lives looking at the heavenly kingdom as his hometown, not the world, and this is what he says, 'walking in the truth'.
However, if you fall into your own desires and want to receive the things of the world in the name of blessing by using the name of God, you are not a very small person. For such people, the things of heaven are not already great and precious, but the things of the world are filling their hearts with great and precious things. Such people cannot welcome the least of them. It is because they do not have eyes to see the precious things in heaven that the least of them is testifying.
So who are the strangers today? They mean believers who hope for the kingdom of heaven rather than hope for the world. Real strangers are those who know that the kingdom of God is their hometown and live in hope only for that kingdom and its righteousness. A poor man without a home is not a stranger.
If such a stranger is valued, it is because he too is longing for the country where he will leave this world and live in his hometown. Therefore, if the saints meet as those who are in the truth, they will receive them as believers who know the preciousness of truth. If you met a brother who knew the truth and had the truth, would you show your pride, rivalry, or envy? You only see the truth and treat your brothers, but you don't look at people and treat them according to people. This is love.
Believers do not help beggars or homeless people out of pity because they do not see them in the flesh. However, if it were not for me or them, or Jesus, I would look at it from the point of view of only children of perdition. Therefore, the pitiful beings are not for those who do not have money, but for all those who cannot escape from destruction without Jesus. I am only thankful for that because the poor being received grace and became a blessed being who lives in the truth.
To deal with this kind of heart is to see people in the truth, and that is true reception. If a believer meets with this kind of heart, this is a relationship of love that cannot be seen in the world. And this is to welcome each other and to live in the world as the least of the strangers.