I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 4
We watched John leave his fishing nets. We have seen him answer Christ’s invitation to “Come and see.” We watched a Son of Thunder become an apostle of love. We stood with him on the Mount of Transfiguration, beneath the cross, and at the empty tomb.
Now the story changes. The fisherman becomes the pastor. The eyewitness becomes the shepherd. The young disciple who once wanted the highest seat in the kingdom is now an elderly man whose greatest joy is seeing ordinary believers keep following Jesus.
That is exactly what 1, 2, and 3 John are about. These are not theological debates written for scholars. They are pastoral letters written for Christians who were trying to remain faithful in a confusing world. False teachers were denying who Jesus really was. Sin was being minimized. Love had grown cold in some places, while fear and uncertainty had grown in others.
Two thousand years later, we face many of the same struggles. Competing voices surround us, distorted versions of Christianity, and constant pressure to redefine truth. John’s answer is not to invent something new. He continually brings us back to the same unchanging Person.
Jesus.
Throughout this study, we will notice one word appearing repeatedly: Remain and/or Abide.
John’s burden is not simply that we begin well, but that we continue walking faithfully with Christ until the very end.
Do not rush through these devotionals. Read slowly. Pray honestly. Ask the Spirit to search your heart.
John is not inviting us merely to study a letter. He is inviting us to remain close to the Savior he loved. John is asking us to sit at the table with Jesus.
Father, thank You for giving us an eyewitness who faithfully pointed generation after generation to Christ. As we open these letters, guard us from reading them merely with our minds. Shape our hearts. Strengthen our faith. Deepen our love. Teach us what it truly means to abide in Christ every day.
Remaining in Him,
eep
