My
dear friend (Gaius), first I pray that you may experience the same health you
enjoy in your relationship with God in every part of your life, so that you may
live out fully all the Lord places in your heart. (3 John 2)
What
do you picture when you think of prosperity? Is it power? Money? Fame? Or,
maybe you think of great intellect, beautiful appearance, or uncommon skill?
John
includes being “well in spirit” and “faithful in truth” (v3) as elements of
prosperity. This may be different from how you think of that word. Prosperity
has many definitions, depending on the speaker and the context. From Latin, we understand
it can mean “according to expectation” and “for hope.” The Greek; to “have a
good career,” and Hebrew “making accomplished” are two other choices. John uses
all of them here; a blanket of prosperity. He puts hope in God at the
center and as the cause of his wish for Gaius to be well and able to meet the
Lord’s expectation for his life. He even identifies that “having a good
career of accomplishing God’s will is the real prosperity that he
wishes for his friend.
How
will you define prosperity?
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