“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4
What is the greatest joy that you can ever obtained here on this earth? Some years back, a friend recounted to me how he saw a grown man cried tears of joy when his daughter, through balloting, got into their desired primary school. For a grown man to shed tears like that, it must have given him great joy to know that his precious child has finally, after a long drawn battle at the balloting table, fought the good fight (12 vacancies only!) and secured a highly coveted place at this highly coveted primary school. Aaaah what joy!
But let it be known that THERE IS a greater joy!
John, in his letter to Gaius, speaks of the greatest joy he ever knew from this side of heaven. Interesting that he never mentioned the joy of striking 4D or the joy of getting into elite schools or the joy of winning gold medals in the winter Olympics. The joy that he had in mind was simply to derive happiness from knowing that the community under his care has held fast to the truth and is practically living out that truth in love. The word “truth” occurs six times in the letter and is probably connected with the truth of the gospel (especially v8) not unlike the other letters of John.
As parents, it gives us great joy to know that our kids are going to a reputable school and receiving good quality education. But as Christian parents, we share the sentiments of John in affirming that our greatest joy is still in seeing our children knowing and living out the gospel truth. And this joy is certainly not just restricted to parents, but is the fruit of all who serves in gospel ministry. Thus, my respect goes out to all the CE teachers in AMKGH from all levels: children, youth, young adults, adults, seniors… every CE level has their unique challenges and kudos to all who tirelessly prepares the lessons and class discussions week in and week out; finding means to improvise and supplement the lesson guides in order to make each session more relevant and engaging for the students under their care. Indeed, preparing CE lessons can be tiring, tedious or just plain inconvenient. But for the joy set before them, they persevere on. The joy set before them is the joy of seeing their “children” grow in the truth. Such joy, as John would agree, is well worth the sacrifices made. So to all who are preparing CE lessons, 1-to-1 meet-ups, sermons, or simply rehearsing the gospel in your head to share with a friend, let’s be encouraged by the joy set before us for there is truly no greater joy from this side of heaven!