How Do You Recognize a Christian? | Part 13 | Love With(out) Borders – 2 John 1:1-13 | Chris Voigt

Love With(out) Boundaries
How Do You Recognize a Christian?
August 29, 2021

It was American advertising executive and author Lois Wyse who came up with a tagline for a small company in Orrville, Ohio, which made them famous across the country: “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.” And Smucker’s has been a household name ever since. She’s also credited with saying, “If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I would have had them first.” As many of you know, DeeDee and I have a 3-year-old granddaughter whom we adore. Being Avery’s Pops and Grammy is pure joy. We love hanging out with her; reading books, watching movies, taking walks, dancing, singing, making dinner…just about everything is more fun with Aves. As our only grandchild, she has our undivided attention and affection. And she definitely has us wrapped around her little finger! I mean…we’ve already bought her her first car!

Our love for Avery is deep; but as much as we want to hear her laugh and see her happy, we still have boundaries in place that ensure our relationship with her is healthy. She doesn’t get candy for breakfast, we don’t let her run rampant in the streets without supervision, sharp knives are a no-no! Beyond that, well let’s just say Pops is the tops in her world right now.

This week, in our series How Do You Recognize a Christian, we’re taking a look at the short book of 2 John. Though only 13 verses long, this letter from the Apostle John holds important truth for us. In just a few verses, John tells us how to keep our love for others within safe boundaries – by building into our lives two solid guardrails that protect us from going off course: truth and discernment. As pastor Chuck Swindoll writes, “Love flows with life-giving power, but without boundaries, it can do great harm. In the name of love, we can go too far.” Throughout his first letter, John challenged us over and over to love one another. Now in his second letter, he helps us better understand what love should look like.