THE FLIP SIDE OF LOVE

THE FLIP SIDE OF LOVE

Bible:2 John 1:1-11

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s

Son, will be with us in truth and love (V.3).

Reading

The Roman inns during Jesus’ time had a reputation so bad that rabbis (Jewish religious teachers) wouldn’t even allow cattle to be left at them. Faced with such bad conditions, travelling Christians usually looked out for other Christians they could stay with. Among those early travellers were false teachers who said that Jesus wasn’t God’s promised King (the Messiah). This is why John said in his letter of 2 John that there is a time to not be hospitable. John had said before that these false teachers were an “antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 JOHN 2:22). In 2 John he expanded on this, telling his readers that whoever trusts Jesus as God and King “has both the Father and the Son” (2 JOHN 1:9). Then he warned, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them” (V.10). To welcome someone spreading a false message about Jesus would actually keep people separated from God. It would encourage people to believe in a fake-Jesus, which would do them no good at all! John’s second letter shows us a ‘flip side’ of God’s love. We belong to a God who welcomes everyone with open arms. But genuine love won’t stand for people who harm themselves and others by spreading fake news about Jesus. God wraps His arms around those who genuinely trust Jesus for themselves, but He never allows a lie.

THERE IS ONLY ONE JESUS
—AND HE’S FOUND IN THE BIBLE.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries