Every time we read God’s Word, new facets of truth emerge to deepen our understanding and perspective. The Bible is a never-ending source of discovery, which is one of the things that makes studying it so edifying.
Casual readers of scripture are often unaware of the underlying structures that help us understand and interpret God’s Word. For example, the New Testament is comprised of 27 different books that fall into four categories: biography, history, letters, and prophecy. The majority of books in the New Testament (21) are letters.
Letters are a unique form of writing that frequently present challenges to even the most experienced Bible scholars. A letter often has a “back story” where the author refers to situations, people, and even theological and organizational challenges that the original readers were familiar with but modern readers are not. Our task is to find the underlying original meaning and apply it to our situation.
I have been reading Third John, the shortest letter in the New Testament. It is also the only book in the New Testament that doesn’t mention Jesus or Christ by name (in the KJV). Theologians believe that Third John was written by the Apostle John, the beloved disciple who spent his last years in the mainland of Asia Minor in the region of present-day Turkey. The letter was written to Gaius. Church tradition tells us that this Gaius became a Christian through John’s ministry, and that John installed him as an elder in Pergamon, though there is no textual evidence to support that idea.
The primary topic of this short epistle is hospitality, a hallmark of genuine Christianity. Some individuals and churches associated with this epistle were struggling to practice and experience true biblical hospitality. Do we face similar challenges today?
Hospitality is critical to our mission. Some of us are either naturally inclined or spiritually gifted to practice hospitality, but all must become living examples of hospitality. Hospitality isn’t just welcoming people or taking part in a fellowship meal. Hospitality is all about opening our life and serving other people, both friends and strangers. The source of hospitality is a servant’s heart that wishes good outcomes for other people. In fact, this very idea is communicated at the beginning of this short epistle. John writes, “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” (NASB)
Recently, I met a young man named Nicholas at Boston Temple who exemplifies the true spirit of hospitality and evangelism. Nicholas is only four years old, but he told his parents that he was worried about people who don’t know Jesus and people who don’t have good health or understand healthy living. His mother asked him, “What would you like to do about it?” Nicholas said, “Let’s tell them about Jesus and how they can be happy and healthy.” They bought some Bible study and health tracts, and they, along with Nicholas, went to Whole Foods. Nicholas took the tracts to people and asked them if they would like to know more about healthy living and how to be happy. He passed out all his tracts to shoppers at Whole Foods.
Nicholas took tracts to people and asked them if they would like to know more about healthy living and how to be happy. What if all of us, out of true concern for others, practiced biblical hospitality? Our mission statement as a union is “United We Go to Grow God’s Kingdom.” Nicholas has shown us one way of achieving that mission. May each of us embrace that mission and that calling and practice genuine hospitality.
