My Greatest Joy

3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Habakkuk 2:14 “For the Lord will fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters cover the sea.”

Psalm 127:5 says “Like arrows in the hands of the archer are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them?” I feel so blessed for the children God has given us. I echo the words of 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.” We are so full of joy to see where each of our children are and to see them walking in the truth and desiring for God to use their lives for His glory.

In 1 John 4 its interesting to see the correlation between love and obedience. 1 John 4:12 says “if we love one another, God’s love abides in us and we make his love complete.” In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul said, “Be imitators of God. Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.” Then, in 2 John 1:6 John says, “This is love, that we walk according to His commands. This is the commandment that we have from the beginning, love one another.” God longs for the world to see and understand that He loves them. Ian Thomas said, “His cherished ambition was to be seen, heard, known and loved through those He created.” That’s us! Through our love for one another, and our love for the lost, according to 1 John 4:12 God is going to be seen and known. His love is seen, God Himself, the invisible God will become visible, known, through us, as we love one another.

In Habakkuk 2:14 , in the midst of denouncing woes on those who were living in disobedience, God says, “For the earth WILL BE FILLED with the knowledge of the glory of God as waters cover the sea.” This is a fact! Its a guarantee. God will fill the earth with knowledge of His glory. One of the ways He will do this is by us following the words of 1 John 4:19-20 “Because He first loved us, we also ought to love one another. And, the world will be filled with the knowledge of His glory as we live a life of love as Christ did.

My prayer for my children (and for God’s kids corporately) is that they will be filled with love for God as they come to know His love more and more (Eph 3 : 17-19). And that the more you love Him the more His love will compel you to show His love to the world.