Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, Zane.

I’m already inundated with additional work—beyond what I was already planning for today. But I’ve decided to exercise my best mental muscle for resisting any other tangents or distractions before I take on the challenge of replacing the headlight switch in my truck. It’s just not a good thing to be driving that rig in the dark without lights—even though I can kind of cripple by holding the upper light switch lever in high beam mode.

Hope you’re doing well with your spectrum of pressures and responsibilities.

Love and prayers—Tua (Ray)

John has a lot to say about truth in all his writings. While he uses the term in many ways, it all focuses on thetruth that man is a sinner in need of a savior, and that God, in incredible love, has provided only ONE way for man’s rescue from his eternally hopeless state—Jesus. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (I John 5:12). You can’t state this universal condition of need any more simply than that!

In this tiny epistle, John presents five practical spins of this central theme.

1. LOVE IN THE TRUTH (v. 1).
He begins his letter by saying, “To my dear friend, Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” He is acknowledging that Gaius, by virtue of his embracing the same standard of truth, is on the same page with him—which offers the basis of a valuable friendship bond. That’s the best kind of fellowship there is.
2. FAITHFULNESS TO THE TRUTH (v. 3).
Of course, it all has to begin at the heart level. Grappling with this theme and embracing it as absolute truth is integral to the assignment of building an essential personal
3. WALK IN THE TRUTH (v. 3).
Heart-level belief in this truth must then be translated into lifestyle so that there is no contradiction between what a person says and what he does.
4. WORK TOGETHER FOR THE TRUTH (v. 8).
It would be immoral to possess the absolute cure for cancer and not share it. It is more immoral to possess the cure for sin and not want to do something about sharing it with others in need.
5. REPUTATION BY THE TRUTH (v. 12).
Demetrius was a man who was a role model of the first four points and was awarded respect and recognition by others who live by this truth. That’s the best kind of reputation. John mentions an opposite example by the name of Diotrephes who was a demonstration of classical hypocrisy (v. 9).
““When the fox preaches, look to your geese.”
German proverb