Let My Life Be A Testimony For You

Scripture For The Day 

  March 16, 2023

 "Let My Life Be A Testimony For You" 

Since we finished up the study of the Sermon on the Mount, I recently turned back to studying John. You remember John, right? ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’? That tickles me how John describes himself. But I love the confidence and John was right, Jesus did love him and even though John was as close as a brother to him, Jesus also loves you. And Believe it or not, He loves me too.  But today we are going to revisit what John said about Diotrephes. I can’t seem to get him off my mind. Can you imagine? Apparently, God deemed it important enough to call him out by name for all the world to see. John described Diotrephes as being someone who always wanted to be first, to be the leader, to be in control of whatever is going on, and to top it off, he was a liar. Diotrephes refused to be kind to certain people. He refused to help people who he didn’t like. He was pure arrogance and per the control freak that he was, he refused to allow others to help them as well. If anyone did, Diotrephes would no longer allow them to meet at the church. That’s just ludicrous. I mean who did this guy think he was? Jesus, Himself? But, sadly, people are still like that today. 

Now, pay close attention to this, John never said that Diotrephes was an unbeliever. He was a member of the church. He was more than likely a deacon since he was a leader in the church. In all probability, he was a Christian. He just wasn’t a very nice Christian. Dealing with people like that can be so disheartening. It's frustrating and heartbreaking. God tells us in His Word to make sure we are not an obstacle for the lost as well as for the saved.  If he was indeed a Christian, when he went home to be with The Lord, Diotrephes must have had a rude awakening realizing how he hurt his testimony for Christ. But then it would have been too late. The thought of that hurts my heart and encourages me to examine myself.  Try as I might, I don’t think I will ever understand that type of mindset in a Christian. The world doesn’t revolve around us. When we die, life will go on for the rest of the world. We are such a tiny part of the story of God’s Creation. Here today and gone tomorrow. We are no better than the person who irritates us. We are all struggling with something. We all hurt. We all have good days and bad days. But to flourish, we need each other. We need kindness and forgiveness and humility. Self- centeredness, and hatefulness in a Child of God are like oxymorons. We know better. But do we choose to do better?  We can choose to be conscientious with how we treat each other. Admitting that we are not all that and a bag of chips. Recognizing that life is not all about us and though we may be hurting and struggling, others are going through tough things as well. Or we can believe that we always know better and that what we struggle with is more important than others.  Child of God, we need to get out of our own heads and recognize that it’s all about Jesus. Let us examine ourselves.  What kind of testimony are we sharing? Are we quick-tempered? Are we focused on ourselves? Are we forgiving? Are we kind? Do we think of others first?  What legacy will we leave behind? Father God, let us not be like Diotrephes, though I know he must have struggled in his own right. But let our testimony be all about you, no matter what we are going through. Remind me Lord we are just gloves in which you place Your Hands. 

Father God, Let MY life be a testimony for you. 3 John 1: 5-14