Face To Face

Thursday February 12, 2015

Technology is helpful, but it can also hinder communication. As the apostle John told Gaius, it´s hard to fully convey all that is in our heart when we´re not with the other person (3 John 1:13-14). If John were writing his third epistle today, he might sign off : "I don´t want to call, text or tweet my thoughts. I hope to come over soon, and then we´ll talk face to face."

John knew the power of face to face communication because he was a believer in Jesus. In his gospel he revealed that this is how God conveyed His love to us : "The Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father´s one and only Son" (John 1:14). God didn´t reveal His love in a blog post or social media update. He showed us His love by showing up in skin.

The power of touch can be intimidating. It often seems safer to retreat behind technological walls, commenting to those who aren´t with us rather than speaking with those who are. It´s easier not to make eye contact as we share our deepest feelings via characters on a screen.

Here´s the thing : we must open ourselves to the face of Jesus to fully experience His love. John says that soon Jesus will return, and "we will see him as he really is" (1 John 3:2). In that moment we´ll understand that we couldn´t possibly be more known or loved. Jesus already sees us as we really are, and He unconditionally accepts all who receive His unfathomable grace. This deeply personal love is best shared with others in person (3 John 1:13-14). If we want to reach others, we must be willing to do so face to face. - Mike Wittmer

Read
3 John 1:1-15
The elder,

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone - and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

Revelation 1:9-20
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord´s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said : "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches : to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
I turned around to see the voice  that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man", dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said : "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this : The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

Question to Ponder
How might you use and/or limit technology to deepen your friendships?
Who do you need to sit down with to have a face to face conversation that will bring God glory?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue