LEARNING DAILY

3 John 1:3-4, For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

John speaks of Gaius as walking in the truth. More than likely Believers had visited the church Gaius belonged to and had spoken well of him and the church.  Regardless, John called him a beloved friend. From the writing, John was excited to know about Gaius’ example to other church members. The Greek word for truth is “aletheia” meaning “actual, real, and objectively accurate”. Truth is not something a Believer strives to know by reading and studying God’s Word; it is a way of life he/she actually walks or practices. That is the meaning of walking the narrow way each day. People that see you should see that you believe different from the world’s philosophy.

Gaius not only lived what he believed, he reached out with the truth to others. In doing a little research on Gaius, he was selfless in helping others and in Christian hospitality. In fact, I learned that in Romans 16:23, John must have been staying with Gaius when he wrote his letter to the Romans. I have written several times about Quartus, the brother (in the last part of verse 23) several times. Finish reading this letter and you will find John wrote about Gaius’ hospitality (verses 5, 6, 8), his faithfulness (verse 5), his love (verse 6), and for walking in the truth (verse 3).

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” John writes of the joy he has when he hears about other Christians who are faithfully following the Lord. The Christian’s “walk” refers to following Jesus Christ, reading/studying/meditating on His Word, loving as He showed while on earth (and continues as He sits at the right hand of the Father), and conforming to His image while walking the narrow way. In the phrases used today this would be “walk the talk’ or “practice what you preach”.

To “walk in truth” is to be led by the Holy Spirit. The last sentence of 1 John 5:6 states, “And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth”. It is the Holy Spirit who testifies or gives witness that Jesus is the Son of God (John 15:26). When Believers walk in obedience with the Holy Spirit, He begins to change them from within. Being obedient is to walk in the light (1 John 1:7), walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and walk in a way that pleases the Lord (Colossians 1:10).

When we “walk in truth” others cannot help but notice something different in our lives. I believe that the Lord Jesus wants His light in us to shine brightly so that others wonder what it is that makes us the way we are. That certainly can give every believer the opportunity to share how Jesus has changed us. Who knows that light might rub off on others. “Walking in the light” has the power to change and transform not only each Believer but to impact those around us!