10 key words in 2 John #2: chosen

Introduction:

These three short letters – 1,2 and 3 John – are traditionally thought to be written by the author of the Gospel of John, known as John the Evangelist. 1 John is written to a group of early believers, some of whom were losing sight of the truth to be found in Jesus Christ. This letter – 2 John – is written to an individual – and this individual is a woman!

This month’s approach is to pick out 10 key words from the letter and unpack those words to see what message they contain for us today. So I suggest that each day, you read the whole letter, then read my thoughts on a particular key word and then take that word with you to reflect on throughout the day.

The whole of 2 John:

1 The elder,

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

The 10 key words:

• lady
• chosen
• children
• love
• truth
• Jesus
• joy
• command
• deceiver
• teaching

Today’s word: chosen

chosen: having been selected as the best or most appropriate.

He is by no means a forerunner in his chosen field.

This word ‘chosen’ here is a common New Testament word – eklekte – which is where our English word “elect” comes from.

I start from the position, as Paul does in his letters, that all believers can be regarded as ‘those who have been chosen by God.’ In fact, I would go further than that: every individual human being who has ever walked the earth is special to God, chosen by Him to live and breathe. In ‘The Shack’, Mack comments at how often God refers to people as ‘my special son’ or ‘my special daughter’. ‘How can they all be special?’, he asks. God laughs and comments that yes, each one is special and the fact that each one is special doesn’t make them any less special. Any of us with more than one child of our own can relate to this: each of our children is special to us in their own unique way. I don’t believe that there are a chosen few who can connect with God and inherit eternal life. God is love and God wants that for every single human being who has ever lived. So it’s not that I am a person of faith that makes me special. I was always special to God. It’s becoming a person of faith that has helped me recognise and live in the truth of how special I am to God.

Does that make sense?

‘Chosen’ here in this passage does probably mean more than that. It denotes this woman’s position in the church community. She has been chosen by God for a specific role. She has been chosen to take on certain responsibilities – maybe by John or by the local church itself. She is a leader in this group of believers – respected and revered. She has a public ministry.

John described the chosen lady as one who was known and loved by all who know the truth…The chosen lady was well-known in the Christian community, and anyone who loved the Lord could not help but love her. The evidence strongly indicated she was at least a diakonos, a deacon like Phoebe in Romans 16—one who gave pastoral leadership to a house church, if not an episcopos, an overseer—one who had the oversight of a number of house churches. Lamar Wadsworth

Some of us will be chosen by God for leadership roles within our Christian community. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if others described us as ‘known and loved by all who know the truth’? In fact, wouldn’t it be great to be described in that way whatever our role was? I believe that God created each one of us with a unique part to play in the ongoing work of His kingdom here on earth. I’m sure you’ve seen the quotes – ‘If you don’t play your role, no one else will’ or ‘Be yourself: everyone else is taken’….that kind of thing. It’s up to each one of us to work out what we have been created for. We take on many roles in our lifetime and in each of them, we are called to live a life worthy of our calling.

You have been chosen by God.

What has He chosen you for?