GOOD NEWS / SAD NEWS

SCRIPTURE
2 John 1:4-6 [Message] I can’t tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father. 5 But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. 6 Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed. Don’t Walk Out on God
2 John 1:4-6 [ESV] 4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady--not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning--that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

OBSERVATION
So I'm imagining getting this letter coming in the mail, in the [MESSAGE] it comes off optimistic -" how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth," [GOOD NEWS] in the ESV it comes off kind of depressing - "rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth," [SAD NEWS] - there is a big difference between "many" and "some" - MANY of the people are getting it! - SOME of the people are getting it! But before I get too caught up in the numbers - there's a bigger question - "What are they getting, what are they doing?" - I love the language from the message: "conduct your lives in love" - whether it's "MANY" doing it or "SOME" doing it in your local church, the really question is: "AM I DOING IT?" Then perhaps even that question is putting the cart in front of the horse - Because the real question to meditate on is this, "What does conducting your life in love, look like for you?"

APPLICATION
For me conducting myself in love, is putting other first.
Putting God first - spending time with Him today.
Putting Family first - thinking abut them, praying for them, talking with them, and spending some time being with them.
Putting Friends first - who needs a word of encouragement today, a laugh, a hug, a cup of coffee?
Putting Community first - being there for others, visits, conversations, shared experiences
Having something left for the unexpected person God puts in my path today?

PRAYER
Father,
In Jesus' name, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today, enable me to love, to serve, and to share.
To do that, that would be Good News!