| 3 John 1:4 – “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” |
My older brother was very involved in sports when we were in high school. All four years he played varsity football, wrestled, ran track, and played baseball. Dad especially loved to watch him play football, and even got his only speeding ticket rushing to a game one Friday night after work. There was never a second thought about traveling to his away games, even if the weather was bad. In fact, his last football game was played in below-freezing temperatures with sleet covering the metal bleachers. Long car rides to tournaments, entire Saturdays spend in the gym watching wrestling matches, endless hours in the sun at baseball games – despite it all, nothing made my dad happier than to watch his oldest son do his best playing sports.
Our verse today talks about an earthly joy that is felt when young converts are following God. But I could not help but think how much more our heavenly father feels joy when we turn our lives over to him, when we seek him daily (even if the weather is bad or the days are long) and keep doing our best day after day, year after year.
Prayer: Dear Father, at the end of the day, what matters most is that my actions and words have brought you joy. Help me to not grow weary when the days are long or I’m uncomfortable in my surroundings. All I want is to honor you. Amen
– Betty Gossell
