III John 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth.
Hospitality: Helping the Truth
It was dusk in a city many miles from my home. I had gone there without my wife, children, or even my dog. I was by myself. Quite frankly, it was a little lonely. Have you ever been there? Maybe you’ve been in the most familiar places of your life and still felt a little bit lonely. Increasingly, we live in a hostile world where we can be surrounded by other people, but still be lonely. God’s plan is that we be helpers to the truth by showing hospitality to those who walk in the truth. God’s design for hospitality is for God’s people to show comfort, encouragement, strength, help, and love to other of His people.
III John is a book about hospitality. There are three kinds of people who are involved in hospitality: those who need it, those who give it, and those who refuse to give it. Who needed hospitality? John did. John, writing to Gaius, says that he was not going to write a letter because he planned on coming to see Gaius face to face. He is talking about hospitality, and he is assuming that he will be granted hospitality by this brother, Gaius, when he shows up. We help the truth by giving hospitality to those who walk in the truth. There may be people around you today who have a place to stay and something to eat, but who still need hospitality. They need to be encouraged by the truth in which they are seeking to walk.
Who gave hospitality? Again, this man named Gaius. John says, “Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” Truth is the purpose for this hospitality. John says, “We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.” We don’t show hospitality because someone went to our school, lives in our state, or because we just feel warm and fuzzy about them. We show hospitality because it’s what Christ would do, and we help the truth when we show hospitality to those who walk in the truth.
Finally, there are those who neglect showing hospitality. Such was Diotrephes. John says, He “loveth to have the preeminence among them, and receiveth us not.” Someone who has put himself in first place has no room to show hospitality to others. Put others first and help the truth by showing hospitality to those who walk in it. We are living in a hostile world, but God has provided everything we need to further the truth by encouraging those who seek to walk in it.