MONDAY April 17th
2 John 1:12-13
‘Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet you.’
I have decided to include the last two verses of this short letter in the devotions, because I just smiled to myself when I read the words ‘paper and ink’, it made me realise how well off we are today with all the resources we have available to us to be able to communicate with each other. For John and the other apostles, to be able to communicate with the churches it would either have had to be in person or through a letter. It makes me realise how much they cared for the various churches to spend the time they did in communicating with them, often expressing the desire to be able to see them face to face. Just think about it, even to get to one of the churches would have taken considerable time without the modern means of transport that we have today.
So let’s not take all that we have for granted, not just in the natural realm, but which also can be of benefit to us spiritually. The fact that I can sit down with my Bible and computer and spend some time writing out the devotions and then save them on the hard drive or even in the ‘cloud’, and with just a few clicks on the computer keyboard or the touch screen on my mobile phone send them out to however many contacts I have saved in a group for them to be able to open them up and to read, seconds later. Or if I am not using the computer, I have a device onto which I hand write what I am preparing and then with a few clicks it will convert my handwriting into typed text which I can then send to my computer and input it into the devotions I had prepared on that. And it’s not just the devotions, how quickly and easily we can send out prayer requests, or dial a few numbers and communicate audibly, such is the wonder of modern technology.
But notice what John says, ‘Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face’, Yes technology is helpful, but we must never allow it to become the means which stops us as God’s people from meeting face to face, yes, I trust that for those who read the devotions that they are a means of blessing, but there is nothing that can beat our being together in fellowship, face to face , brother and sister with brother and sister. Sadly, I have heard many pastors comment that one of the negatives of the pandemic has been that many have not returned to church services, or some have but far less frequently, there are those who have decided that if they can just click and watch something on-line it will be sufficient. That is not true, being together is so important, face to face in person is far more beneficial than watching on a screen. May it become if it is not already, the desire of each one to be as John was, and I put it in different language to reflect our modern society, ‘I do not want to use computer or smart phone, but rather I would prefer to attend in person, and fellowship with you face to face’.