3 John 14 KJV
[14] “But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.”
John is giving his benediction with the mindset that he will come to see the brethren soon. He would rather say some things face to face instead of putting them in a letter. In this modern world of technology there are things that are too personal and important to put in a text or an email. A phone call does not even seem sufficient. They bear more weight, and demand more attention, and need to be said face to face. John felt this way, and I believe we should also be more sensitive about how we convey messages to individuals. There are times when what needs to be said must be said face to face.
When reading this verse, I can’t get it off my heart that these are the final words and thoughts of the apostle. He uses terminology that not only makes me think in an earthly realm, but also in a heavenly realm. Spirit filled saints will also provoke us to think beyond the temporary and into the eternal.
To further explain my thoughts, I think of the phrase “I shall shortly see thee”. Even though I have never met this patriarch, I know that one day soon I shall shortly see him. This makes the epistle personal to me. I feel a connection that I will see him along with so many others. We will one day speak “face to face”! Can you imagine being face to face with family, friends, Christians of all ages and most of all our Savior? Paul; Peter; James; John; Moody; Spurgeon; Mueller; and many, many more! We will live forever in a land of peace, and we will greet all the brethren by name just as he mentions in our verse. Heaven will be as personal as this verse we are reading. Allow me to close this devotional series, along with the apostle John in this verse, by saying to every reader who has taken the time to read these devotionals…….”Our friends salute thee”.