4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
—The words of the Apostle John from 2 John 1:4
I have enjoyed mystery novels for a long, long time. For me, a good mystery novel has a plot that grabs me and holds my attention. Similarly, if a mystery novel can truly engage me, motivate me to think ahead and try to predict the outcome, but then, surprise me with some unique twist in the plot, that’s when a good mystery novel becomes a great mystery novel.
I particularly enjoy mystery novels that challenge me to discover which of the characters represent the “good guys” and which represent the “bad guys.” It’s not always easy to tell, at first.
However, as the plot unfolds and we see the characters in different situations, it sometimes becomes apparent which ones represent good and which ones represent evil. Occasionally, a character that I at first thought was good, turns out to be really bad. When this happens I always feel disappointed. But, I also recognize that the goodness of the good characters becomes heightened by the evil of the evil characters.
I also find it particularly fascinating, when the situation in which a character finds himself or herself gives that character a chance to turn from lies and move toward and into a pathway of truth. Sometimes, the character will make that choice. Other times, the character will double-down on the pathway of lies. Each choice offers consequences. On the pathway of truth, the character will find redemption. On the pathway of lies, the character will find damnation.
The statement that the Apostle John writes in his second epistle—that’s the passage at the beginning of this blog post—has always intrigued me. John celebrates that he has found some of the Elder’s children following the truth. I have always wondered what happened to the other children.
You see, if some children walk in the truth, it goes without saying that other children must walk in lies. There’s no middle ground, no shade of gray, no compromize position. Either the children walk in the truth of God’s revelation in and through His written Word, or they walk in a pattern governed by lies.
I wonder what turned them away from truth. They were children of the same mother. They belonged to the same family. They had the same instruction. They had the same opportunity. They had the same wealth of positive experience. They had seen where following the truth would lead, yet they chose lies over truth.
I suspect that they began to turn from the truth in small ways, at first. A little lie here. Another little lie there. Instead of holding firmly to the truth, they began to cut corners, to compromize, to convince themselves that their own motives held more importance than faithfulness to the truth.
Little by little, small act by small act, they started down the pathway of lies. Soon, truth was left far behind. The bright, shining glory of the truth, became clouded in a mist of lies. Where once the truth lighted their pathway, now the lies they chose blotted out that light. So, they wandered—stumbled really—along a pathway that they could no longer see clearly.
That’s how Satan works, you know. A little nudge here, a poke there, and soon the Evil One has manipulated you onto a pathway of lies. The darkness begins to set in and you soon do not even remember what the bright light of the day of truth even looked like.
I grieve for these other children. I long to read of how they came to their senses, confessed their sins, repented of their sins, made restitution for their sins, and received the reconciliation with God and man that would set them firmly back on the pathway of truth.
Sadly, John’s letter gives us no such end to the story. We don’t know what happens to the other children. John leaves their fate up to our imagination, at least insofar as this letter is concerned.
But, in our own lives, we can rest with surety on the fact that God longs to help keep us on the pathway of truth. That’s why God has given every person who believes on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us to guide us. He lives within our hearts to prompt us to follow the truth. He captivates our minds, if we will allow Him to do so, and makes clear, truthful thinking a normality for us.
What about you, dear one? Will you consciously choose to stay on the pathway of truth? As you examine your mind and heart, consider whether your fellow believers might someday ask, “But, what about the others?” Instead, may you be one of whom the Apostle can write, “It gives me great joy to find you walking in the truth.”
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God for loving us. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. Thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and guide us, so we may walk in the truth.
Please grant us the determination to obey Your Word and live purposefully and intentionally for You each day. Thank You for Your watchful care over us, as You guard our hearts and minds. We pray, with thanksgiving, in the powerful Name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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