3 John 1- 8
I’ve lived with a curse for all of my professional life and
it a curse common to the occupation that God called me to, the curse of being
in sales. Now it may be more
common than I understand, it may have happen to you, but this I know, it drove
me to excel and it also left a void when I had excelled and it did not
happen. The curse has a name; it
is recognition, being acknowledged, and appreciated for your achievements. For me it was a greater motivator than
compensation, but if you’re a sale’s manager reading this, let me be quick to
say compensation was a close second.
Maybe it was just in my DNA or is this curse common to most
men, not sure about girls or ladies, but even as a small child, I would run to
mother and say watch what I can do, and the do ran the gamut from throwing a
ball to hammering nails into a piece of wood. I still do it today with my bride, Jan, I want her approval,
I want to know that she believes in me that she respects and acknowledges my
achievements, even when it’s something as unimportant as making a bed or
sweeping the floors without being ask.
So others can easily manipulate this curse, and it can also
be one big flesh trip, but in sales, a good manager might let you bask in your
achievements for a full day, before reminding you that they are expecting the
same or better the next month. And
that brings me to John the elder, and his acknowledgement and appreciation of a
man called Gaius. Now Gaius was a
Roman name, so more than likely he is a Gentile believer in the truth, and we
understand that “Truth” and Jesus Christ are the same, Jesus is truth. First the apostle John tells Gaius in
his letter that he prays that all goes well for him, with his soul and with his
health. He then recounts what has
been told him by others in the faith that had experienced the love shown by
Gaius. Verse 3, “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and
testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.” The elder John then
acknowledges that Gaius was one of his children, and I take from that he is referring
to him being a convert of John’s ministry.
All the rewards, all the trips, all the plaques and
acknowledgements I received are history and they are forgotten. But Gaius was not looking for the
acknowledgement of the elder, no he was a kingdom minded man, and he was and
will be recognized by the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s, the second man,
Jesus Christ. Verses 5-7, “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your
efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love
before the church. You will do
well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of
the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.” Gaius hit a homerun in the kingdom of God, what a
goal for each of us who walk in “Truth.”
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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