[Truth & Love] the PracticeSample

A Foundation for Truth and Love

The overarching theme of the Apostle John’s second letter is truth and love. The statements he made in this thirteen-verse letter are foundational to every believer. As we stand on the truth, it can transform us into the image of Jesus. In this letter, God reveals Himself to us in ways beyond what we can dream of.

John wrote the letter, or epistle that we call 2nd John, specifically to the church by the early 60s AD – right before the outbreak of the Jewish war against the Roman oppression in Israel in 66 AD and before the Romans demolished Jerusalem in 70 AD.

John, who also penned 1st and 3rd John, the Gospel of John, and Revelation, wrote to believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire due to persecution from Romans and Jews. He focused on two topics: truth and love. As a matter of fact, in the first four verses, he talks about truth five times.

John begins with two words, “the elder”, which in Greek means “the old man.” Even though he was old in a literal and cultural sense, he also referred to himself as an elder in terms of his position as a witness of Christ in several churches. The elders were the first disciples who were guarantors of passing Jesus Christ’s teachings from one generation to the next.

Is this relevant to us in the twenty-first century? Yes, because if the epistle’s purpose is to convey Christ’s truth to the next generation of believers, then that next generation would be, at some point, us.

John is writing to “the elect lady and her children.” Some scholars say this was a way to address the church, the Bride of Christ. John continues, “ . . . whom I love in the truth.” The foundation for his love for the church is the truth according to God's Word.

In the same way, the common bond for those in the church is the truth of Christ. To “have known the truth” means to believe and accept the message of Christ and to express that commitment in active love for each other.

In other words, truth is the basis of love. One truth that John reveals is that we have been loved first by Christ. And because we have been loved, out of that truth, we can then love one another.

God, I open my heart to the truth that You love us so we can love one another. Reveal even more of Yourself to me, and let Your word invade me. May Your Spirit rest upon me so that I am changed and transformed to act in the same way as Your Son, Jesus.