Bringing God Joy

Scripture Read: 3 Jn 1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

Application: What brings our God joy? I think John shares his heart which is patterned after his Lord’s. What’s interesting is … μειζοτέραν (“greater”) appears only here in the New Testament (1, 2, 3 John) – It is interesting that this particular form of μέγας megas appears only here in the NT and makes clear that John is being emphatic in his statement. So John is emphatically his most joyful when he learns that those he has shepherded are remaining in the truth. This does not mean only know it but practice it!  How much I wish we all could say we live there all the time. If we know You we really do know the truth – because You have opened Your Word to us and have honored every moment we have spent studying it – yet Lord we find too many times what we know in our brain does not seem to make it to our hands, feet and especially lips! We love when we are walking in Your truth – we love how we feel toward You, how we feel toward others and even how we feel toward ourselves. Lord grant Your grace to us and fill our heart with that same drive and desire our Lord Jesus had to walk in truth, not just think it. We know You understand our weakness and that we are made of flesh saved by Your grace – that fact encourages us to know You are so longsuffering and patient with us. Yet we believe that through that same grace we can see greater personal victories toward holiness until we lay this flesh down. God grant us Your strength!

* Meditation Questions: How much time do you MAKE to spend with God in His Word? Do you believe that when you do what is true – God holds back His judgment or actually makes God feel pleasure? What do you think it means to “walk in truth”? How hard should it be for a child of God to know the truth?