Whoever does good is from God

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

3 John 1:11 ESV

This is a great straight forward sentence about what should be imitated, good not evil. Whatever one does shows where they are coming from on a spiritual level. What we do speaks volumes about our heart attitude and where our heart truly lies.

Jesus said this in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ESV When we imitate evil our heart is in an evil place, when we imitate good our heart is in the right place.

We must be careful of the behaviors we imitate, because what we do shows where we are coming from or where we have never truly been. If we have seen God we will not want to imitate evil we will want to imitate good. We must remember that, if we are exhibiting evil we have not truly seen God. If we have not truly seen God, we need to step back and start the journey again with a repentant heart.

So today, let's take stock. Are we imitating good or evil? Either way we have work to do. We must either get back on the right track or continue in serving as we should.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman

As it goes well with your soul

The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

3 John 1:1,2 ESV

I really appreciate the opening sentences of the Apostle John's letter to Gaius. It is his prayer that Gaius enjoy a sense of well-being in all of his life, like he enjoys in his soul. “As it goes well with your soul.” What a beautiful thought. When we are in Christ it does go well with our soul. Sin has been washed away, we are new in Christ and eternity in heaven waits for us.

Our spiritual well-being truly is the greatest of gifts that we enjoy in Christ. The inner peace that comes from spiritual well-being helps us to cope with anything else that life may send our way. It is John's prayer that every other aspect of Gaius' life will go as well for him, as it does for his soul. This should be our prayer for all those we love in the faith. We should pray that every aspect of their will go as well for them as it does for their soul.

So today, let's make that our prayer for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let's pray that “all” would go well for them. Let us also pray for those that we know that are not in Christ. Let's pray for them that they would come to Him and find the spiritual well-being that their souls need.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman