May 2: 2 John 1 1-3

Key Verse: 2 John 1 2
because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Devotion:
The letter continues in the same way John seemed to live his life – with open love for all Christians! This is the one thing which unites us in a way nothing else will. We don’t choose our family because they are chosen for us, but when we are willing to open our hearts to that love outside of our normal circle of friends, we open our lives to the love which Christ continues to want for us.

Over this time when we have been locked down and our lives have been turned upside down through things beyond our control, we have learned to love in ways which we had left behind. When we first heard we were going into isolation the world seemed to go mad and the greed of many showed up in ways we had not seen openly before – but that greed had always been there, just in a form we ignored politely!

But as we continue to see the pain other have to endure because of our actions or because of their selfless actions, we begin to understand what this Christian love can be. What we need to do is to link the two together in our hearts and minds – the love for those who need it and the love which Christ is calling us to have. Once we link these together we can look further into our Saviour and the will He has for us in our lives instead of focusing on ourselves in our usual selfish ways!

So today our task is to open up our hearts just a little bit more – something many of us fear because of the bad or sad times we have had to endure when we last opened up our lives to others. Christ taught us we should continue to forgive people who are willing to try again – this is hard when we fear what will happen, but we need to trust in God to guide us on the best path forward with His love at the centre!

Points to Ponder:
Who have you recently ignored because of your hurt?

Will you allow God to give you the love to share with others?