via TJC
“I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon,
and we will talk face to face.”
- 3 John 2:13
We are very fortunate to have God’s word in written form including the letters from Paul to the churches and John’s writings (John, 1-3 John, Revelation). All of the letters introduce characters and situations in the ancient church that are applicable to our lives now and help us learn more about God. 3 John is no exception and while short, it is still powerful by contrasting those working for God and those working for themselves. What jumps out though is in the end of this short letter John acknowledges that he does not want to write to his audience, he wants to see them face to face instead. Why? I’m assuming because he knows the real power in relationships – transparency, vulnerability, growth – this comes face to face (several DBOs this week will address this need).
The currents of life today seem to pull me away from face to face relationships. It may not be letters but instead cheap imitations like texts, emails, and jumbled priorities that leave
relationships last. But every time I make time to spend time with my friends and especially my Christian brothers, I am reminded of how powerful, important and fulfilling it is. And then the currents pull me away and I go way too long before making it happen again. The transparency, vulnerability and growth is sporadic and becomes the exception. A perfect example would be the hitting the Battlefield with TJC – what an experience! But I didn’t invest in the relationships on the back end and haven’t realized the growth I could have. I let the currents pull me back to my normal instead of establishing a new normal. This brings me to the Daily Battle Order.
Daily Battle Order:
Put down your phone and computers and stop fooling yourself that texts, emails and video callsare a relationship. Get face to face. Start small, weekly with a brother. Get real, get vulnerable, let someone in, let God in, and watch the growth! Let it become your new normal. And then in the matrix of life where the Urgent, Not Urgent, Important and Not Important all pull at you, make this an Urgent Important priority and stick with it.
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