Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth (3 John 5-8).

3 John is a “thank you” note from John to Gaius for welcoming some itinerate missionaries into his home. Gaius’s act of love is set in contrast to another church leader named Diotrephes. He not only refused to care for the missionaries, he even kicked them out of the church.

John points out that this mistreatment of the missionaries was not only an affront to God’s mission, but also an affront to the truth. That is because the mission of God and the truth of God are inseparable. We see this in the way John writes this letter. While encouraging the church to support these missionaries, he uses the word “truth” six times (1, 3, 3, 4, 8, 12). The point is clear: If you are committed to God’s mission, you will be committed to God’s truth and if you are committed to God’s truth, you will be committed to God’s mission.

Because we are committed to the truth and to the mission, John says that “we ought to support people like these.” Literally, it says that we owe it to them; it is an obligation. When your mortgage company or credit card send you a bill, they do not ask for a suggested donation. You are obligated to pay. We have the same obligation towards those who are taking the gospel to the nations. Furthermore, we are not merely to provide them with the bare minimum. Rather, in verse 6 we are told to send them out “in a manner worthy of God.” 

Those who love the truth will be passionate about God’s mission. Those who are passionate about God’s mission will share in the work of supporting those who take the gospel to the nations.

Prayer:

Father, may my heart be so gripped by your love and your truth that I will delight to share in Your mission. Instead of clinging to my resources, I give them to You, that You may fill the whole earth with your glory and Praise. In the name of Jesus, Amen.