Food for Friday
But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. 3 John 14
We are living in a day of virtual friends. Many of the friends on our Facebook list are people we have never met or who we barely know personally. The sasme goes for our chat buddies; I have several people who I communicste with regarding work-related issues on a regular basis. We are close friends, although we have never seen each other. We email and communicate in many electronic ways with people all around the world as we expand into and beyond the concepts of Web 2.0. But there is not an electronic media devised yet that can compare with or replace a face-to-face conversation such as John is hoping to have with his dear friend Gaius. And that you and I should share with each other.
Remember the Greeks who came to Philip and said, ‘We would see Jesus’. They were not content to hear stories about His miracles, or even to listen from the back of the crowd as He preached to the multitudes. No, they wanted to meet Jesus and speak directly with Him. They knew the value of the face-to-face encounter. We experience the same encounter with the Lord each day as we look into the Bible and as we pray. And of course, we also appreciate those dear saints who we meet and speak with about spiritual and personal matters. The emoticon of a chat program cannot compare with seeing the expression on another Christian’s face as we converse, or the twinkle in the eye of that Christian as we share a blessing or a chuckle. Just as John longed to see Gaius and talk with him in his presence, so we long to converse face-to-face with other believers.
What did John expect to discuss with Gaius when they met? He has already taken up some crucial issues in the letter. And in the previous verses, he says he has other things to talk about. One of John’s key concerns was the spiritual state of the Assembly. This would be a good thing for Christians to discuss today when we get together. I am not referring at all to gossip about Assembly members, but to issues that might need to be addressed or about conditions that are commendable. When Christians commune, we share those things that are on our hearts, enabling our friends to pray intelligently about us, and us about them. Perhaps we might share our questions about a difficult Scripture verse, and so instruct one another… so many things that we can benefit from with a face-to-face talk.
How many of your brothers and sisters in the Lord have you spoken with face-to-face lately. Could it be you are missing out on one of God’s richest treasures for the believer? -Jim MacIntosh