Meditation on 2 John

If I had to summarize the main theme of 2 John into one sentence, I think I would say that it is about the importance of truth and the eternal and relational aspects and consequences of holding to the truth or failing to do so. Specifically, he makes these claims about truth:

• it is the foundation of our love and unity as members of the body of Christ (v1)
• it is eternal in essence and will be with us forever (v2); it will not change or fade
• it abides in us (v2); it has personal significance and presence in our lives as followers of Christ
• it is one of the defining characteristics of the blessings God gives us, along with love. The grace, mercy, and peace that He promises and gives are not an illusion or a deceit; He gives them in truth (v3)
• it is how we should live - colored all through with the light of truth, in obedience to God's commandments which are true (v4-6)
• it is centered on the doctrine that Jesus is God and came into the world as a man, that He might die for our sins and give us new life in His resurrection - for our lives, as Christians, this is one truth we absolutely cannot forsake, and it is the kernel of doctrine at the center of every use of the word truth in 2 John, I believe (v7)
• it is essential to the value of the good works we do and crucial to to pleasing and honoring God, and thus receiving a reward from Him in heaven (v8)
• it is proof of the legitimacy of the relationship we claim to have with the Father and the Son - if we do not abide in that central truth of Jesus Christ, we are not His (v9)
• it takes precedence over social norms, tolerance, personal comfort, etc. - it is so important that we must take all precautions not to share in the works of deceit, even if that means conflict and "intolerance" (v10-11)
• it is the source of joy, because it is the foundation of genuine love (v12)

One of the beauties of 2 John, however, is that he doesn't make a list like this about the nature of the truth of our faith, and proceed to lecture us philosophically. Rather, the whole book is glowing with deep, warm, godly love; all the points that I extracted were clothed in the rich garments of the love and personal concern that John had for the lady to whom he was writing and for her children, and I think this too is crucially important for us as we try to live in truth. It shows up a bit in my first and last points, but I would phrase it differently now: if a claimed belief in the truth of Jesus Christ does not outwardly manifest itself in the growth of genuine love for others, it is not true belief or it is at best belief that is neglected and dying. If we take root in the soil of His truth, we will bear the fruit of love. In our faith, the two are inextricably linked; any effort to hold to one while compromising the other is a failure and in some cases even a heresy. The issue is not one of finding a middle ground between the two where both truth and love can be uneasily and half-heartedly expressed, because this assumes that they are in conflict, and the whole wonderful point of 2 John is that they not in conflict at all, but are rather joined together in their work and in their very essence. Truth and love, exulting in the beauty they restore to our broken, sin-ridden world - this is the picture John paints for us in this little book, and it is glorious indeed.