Love Each Other

Scripture For The Day 

March 9, 2023

 Love Each Other 

Clement, a Greek theologian, born back in the day of 150 ad, wrote about John in this true account. The apostle John was, of course, one of the founding fathers of the early churches.

“Listen to a story which is not a story but a true tradition of John the Apostle preserved in memory.” Clement goes on to tell us that John was out visiting a new bishop in Smyrna when he saw a young man in the congregation  The young man looked strong. He was good-looking and was very friendly. By all accounts, John knew that if no one took this young man into hand the enemy would pull him away from the church. So, John turns to the bishop and says; ‘I commend this man to you,’ John said, ‘with all diligence in the face of the church, and with Christ as my witness’ John then returned to Ephesus and, as promised, the bishop took the young man under his wing and baptized him. It doesn’t say how much time passed but evidently, the bishop got slack in watching over this young man. You can just guess what happened. Some wayward youths his age began to recruit him into their fold. They were wrong uns to say the least. They corrupted him and pulled him away from the church and into a lifestyle he had no business being in. He gave himself over to a life of sin. Sometime later, John went back to Smyrna and, of course, asked about the young man. I can just picture the bishop squirming a bit, “He has died”- which meant that he turned from his faith.  John replies “Well, it was a fine guardian whom I left for the soul of our brother. But let me have a horse, and someone to show me the way.” John was elderly at this time, but he gets on that horse and goes out looking for this wayward brother and he found him.  John called out to him, “Why do you run away from me, child, your own father, unarmed and old? Pity me, child, do not fear me! You have still hope of life for I will account to Christ for you. If it must be, I will willingly suffer your death, as the Lord suffered for us; for your life, I will give my own. Stay, believe, Christ sent me.” The young man began to weep and hugged the old man, asking for forgiveness. And John took him back and according to the account “baptized him a second time in his tears”

What love for his brother, John had. Are we concerned like that for a brother and sister in Christ to slip and fall back into sin? Or do we just write them off? Are we concerned when our brothers and sisters in Christ leave our church family? Or do we even care at all?

We should love each other enough that we feel a loss within our hearts and souls at the absence of a brother and sister in Christ.

“Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and every one that loves Him that begat (The Father) also loves that is begotten of Him (the Father’s children)” 1 John 5:1

Everyone that loves God also will love His children.