3 John 1:1-4 I am happy for you

3 John 1:1-4 I am happy for you

Have you ever been to a child’s birthday party? A bunch of little kids must set and watch their friend open all their awesome presents while they watch. They do their best to be in control but occasionally, a child will act out and let everyone know, it’s not fair and they want some presents too. Our culture has changed so much over my lifetime, it used to be that people was happy when they heard good news about someone else. Now it seems like people are bitter that someone else is getting something that they feel like they deserve or wanted. The spirit of competition is alive and well in our dog eat dog culture and maybe we should expect this in a society that has abandoned God’s principles, but we should never expect to see it in the church. When did local congregations start competing with another congregation? When did one church success mean that your church is failing? When did the number of people in attendance become the standard of success and rights for bragging status on face book Sunday afternoon? When did we stop be happy that that kingdom of God is prospering even if it doesn’t seem to be happening where we are at?

John writes a letter to his Brother in Christ, Gaius, just to let him know that he is so happy to hear of how great he is doing in his walk with Christ. John says that he is happy to hear that people he helped win for Jesus Christ are succeeding in overcoming this world through the light of Jesus Christ. I know every church and every person doesn’t have the spirit of competition I described in the first paragraph of this blog but I believe there is enough out there to keep the church divided and at odds with each other instead of joint heirs in God’s master plan. The local body of Christ is a great and powerful tool of God, but we must remember it is apart of the global body of Christ. Jesus because the name is different over the front door doesn’t make that church your competition it just means they are doing the work of God in a different location. In stead of competing with them maybe we should do like John and let them know we are excited and happy that God is moving in on their behalf and that God’s kingdom is being expanded by their efforts.