This is a season of many wishes. Some wish they could be home for the holidays. Some wish they could be away for the holidays. Some wish for snow for better skiing. Some wish for warmth and a sandy beach. Some wish for a different job or a larger home. Some wish they had a job or a home. Or that they could walk or be in less pain. Some wish for a certain gift or a long list of gifts. Some wish they could give a gift.
What do you wish for? Are there wishes in Scripture? 3 John 2 expresses one: Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.
Do you join in that desire? How would that happen? If you read the verses that follow, John speaks about the importance of walking in truth. Our soul can prosper when we walk in truth. Since Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), walking in truth is equivalent to walking with Jesus. What better wish could one have than to walk day by day with Jesus.
Paul could testify in Philippians 3:8 …I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (KJV).
Paul had a brief wish list. He had one priority that eclipsed all others, and that was knowing Christ Jesus. He had discovered that when you have Christ, you have everything you need.
The Samaritan woman in John 4 was thirsty. Zacchaeus in Luke 19 was searching. Nicodemus in John 3 was questioning. The wise men in Matthew 2 were searching. And the good news is that those who seek will find in Jesus the answer to their desires. In fact, He also is seeking for those who feel their need.
As we near the end of time, we are seeing many make light of truth. They don’t believe it matters, if such a thing exists. But for those who take God’s Word seriously, truth really does matter. In fact it is the difference between life and death. Before Jesus comes, the Deceiver will lead the world into the greatest scam that has ever been perpetrated (2 Thess. 2:8-12). Power and signs and wonders are not necessarily evidences of truth.
It is as we walk day by day with the Truth, as we pray for a love for truth, as we delve daily into God’s word that we are prepared to welcome the only true Savior.As you consider your wishes this month, may your primary wish be for your soul to prosper. And that your family members and church family members join you in this wish. That brings us one step closer to Christ’s Return.