The apostle John wrote to a beloved friend at one of the churches he oversaw in Asia Minor. His greeting to his friend is a precious one, filled with love and respect.

As I read these words, I think about how we believers support one another. Sadly, I’ve seen it too often that close friends become separated if one no longer attends the same church or moves to a different area. They plan to stay in communication, but “out of sight, out of mind” becomes the rule of the day. I am SO guilty of this!

In John’s words in chapter one, we can tell that when the traveling teachers returned, he was asking for news about Gaius. He wanted to know how his health was and loved hearing about the strength of his faith.

As true friends, we really care about those we call friend. We seek reports on how they are doing, what’s going on where they are, and how their faith is doing. We should never do this from a place of being nosy, but from wanting to be encouraging.

“Well, they’ve never contacted ME, why should I go first?!?”

One question before I answer: Are you a follower of Jesus?

If you said yes, you are instructed to love other believers. It doesn’t say “return love,” it says love, period. Matter of fact, this love shows the lost and dying world that you are that follower of Jesus.

Who do you need to contact? Maybe drop a card or email to? Make a phone call to? Who do you need to love enough to care about their health and their spiritual well being?

Time to take action!

Coffee, Bible, Journal.