Prophecy

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The Apostle of Love
By Patricia Backora, author of the book
Tough Love in Christ’s Millennium
Which you can order online from: http://www.publishamerica.com
I Corinthians 13:1; II John 5

All of Christ’s original Apostles (except Judas) were found faithful at the end of their earthly sojourn, and, after their decease, received a glorious welcome into the Heavenly City. They had all left behind an enduring testimony. Our own conversion was made possible because of the fruitfulness of these first followers of Christ, and the written record they left behind.

The apostle John, especially, caught the vision of the centrality of the Love of God in Christ to all things pertaining to the Christian life. His disciples often asked him: “Brother John, what are you going to minister on today?”

His reply would invariably be: “The Love of God in Christ Jesus.”

When visiting his congregations, he would often ask them: “Little children, are you still walking in His love?”

At that moment, they would be compelled to examine their own hearts to see if it were so. They would feel greatly ashamed if they could not reply “Yes, Brother John.” And it would do no good to try to mislead this aged saint who had walked so closely with his Lord . He was so full of the Holy Spirit that nobody could fool him.

John would do all in his power to recover a straying sheep. If his under-shepherds were lax in this area, he would gently reprove them; for he remembered what Jesus had said about seeking and saving that sheep which was lost.

The day came when John had to go off on a long missionary journey. There was a young convert in the Church of Ephesus whom John had entrusted to the oversight of a friend of his. But it wasn’t long before the lad fell in with a bad bunch. Rather than influencing them for good, the new convert was enticed to renounce his new faith and join his roguish pals in their life of brigandry.

After a lengthy absence, John returned to check on the spiritual progress of the young man. “How is the soul whom the Lord has entrusted to your oversight?” John asked his under-shepherd.

“He has gone away from us,” replied his friend sheepishly. “Trouble not yourself over him, teacher. He is hopeless anyway. I can no longer be burdened with him. I have more profitable things to do for the Lord.”

John reminded him that the Chief Shepherd of souls values His one wandering sheep so much that He leaves all the faithful ones and seeks him out.

John backed up his words with action. He personally undertook an arduous search for this man. On his journey, he was waylaid on the road by a gang of highwaymen, who threatened to kill him if he did not hand over his valuables. John recognized the leader as the man who had run away from his flock. “Why would you harm your own aged father?” he asked. “I have come to recover your soul from death.”

The heart of the brigand was moved by the Spirit of Grace, for no one is able to repent unless God’s Holy Spirit imparts that ability to him. The man knelt, weeping, at the feet of the apostle. John took him back home. He fasted and prayed with the penitent, admonishing him with tears, until peace came back to the young man’s soul and the defilement of his former life was washed away. There are times when spiritual warfare must be waged to expel spirits of darkness which have crept into the life of a believer. They can be very stubborn about releasing their grip once they’ve secured a foothold.

Because John was willing to go the extra mile to help a fallen brother instead of writing him off as hopeless, this young man eventually became a bishop in the Church. There is great power in the love of Jesus.

Many believers of that time thought that John was too preoccupied with the subject of “love”. But John knew by divine revelation that love is the very essence of God’s divine nature, and if this vital truth is ignored, the proclamation of the Gospel loses its power. Love is the very mortar which holds together Christ’s Building of Living Stones, the Church. John could foresee that the effectiveness of Christ’s Church would wane if that most central of truths was ignored. No other motivation for serving Him is acceptable in the sight of God the Father.

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