Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
In order to really understand the joy that John's talking about as he writes this, you must understand the context in which he wrote it. At this point in 3 John, he's nearing the end of his life. This is that spiritual father in him that's checking in and taking stock of those who he's encountered along the way on his path to fulfilling his divinely anointed and appointed mission from Christ.
As he's doing this, his heart is overwhelmed with joy because of what he finds.
What He Finds
What he finds is that his children are following the truth. Now, when it says "following the truth," every parent knows what I'm talking about. Whether you're a parent, you're a coach, you're a mentor—you know exactly what I'm talking about.
When you've poured yourself into people, you've delivered to them. You've given of yourself, served wholly, fully, freely. Then you watch them get it. When I say "get it," you know what I mean? Not just know it, but actually do it—because there's a difference between knowing and doing it.
It's one thing if they knew the Word. It's a totally different thing to see them living it. He said they were following the truth. That means they were living it.
A Different Type of Pride
Maybe you are a parent, a grandparent, a mentor, a teacher, or a coach—any person in any authority or in any type of leadership. Maybe it's that job, maybe you're helping someone else, maybe you're training someone. When you're giving of yourself to them and you watch them grasp and you watch them put the principles you've given them in action, it's a different type of pride.
It makes you so proud in the greatest way, because you see that they were able to get it, and you were able to be used by God as a vessel to impact another human being's life.
My Personal Story
I know countless opportunities I've had to serve young people. I spent years mentoring students in school through organizations like Youth for Christ and teaching Christ in that context. I've come across so many of those students years later who have come to me and said, hey, you know that one day you said X, Y, Z? Then they proceed to quote verbatim something I taught five years ago, and I'm flabbergasted because I didn't even know they were listening—because it looked like they were just chatting it up with their friends.
Yet something I said resonated in their heart, and they said, as a result of me taking action on what I heard, my life is different today.
Three Things Required
What I'm sharing with you is this: In order for you to have this result—in order for you to have this type of joy that John was talking about in 3 John—it's going to require a couple of things of you on your walk. These three things are: discipline, obedience, and honesty.
I've heard it said that the greatest sermon anyone could ever preach is the life that they live. It's the example you set that really gives them the courage to take the steps themselves.
Follow Me as I Follow Christ
It's like the concept in the Bible: "Follow me as I follow Christ," as Paul was communicating. Same type of premise. It's the same thing we got here now with John saying, because I follow Christ, because I fulfilled His plan and purpose for my life, because I poured in and I served, now all my spiritual children that I see living it brings my heart the greatest joy.
A Reflection at the End
When it's almost time for you to return to the Lord, at the end of the days when all you want to do is hear Him say, "Well done"—when it's getting close to that time for you, what feeling will you have?
Will you be filled with the regret of what could have been, what I should have done? I wish I had done more. I wish I had served more. I wish that there was a footprint of the impact I made in the hearts of people.
But instead, you were more concerned with you. You weren't concerned with serving. You weren't concerned with God's mission for you—discipling others, pouring into others, teaching others. Because that is the call for you.
You Are to Disciple Someone
You are to disciple someone. I know that sounds like a fancy word. It's to teach. As you get taught and you're discipled and you grow in your faith, you're able to teach and disciple someone else.
My Challenge to You
The challenge to you is simply this: Find and identify one person in your life that you can pour into on your mission for God—that you can serve, that you can teach, that you can show the way by modeling it, by the way that you live with integrity.
Do this so that one day when you look back over your life, you can experience that same joy John's talking about by watching someone you directly were connected to—that God blessed you with being in their life—go and live it.
