It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Faithfulness over time yields joy. Paul makes this clear as he wrote in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up,” and John would’ve experienced this same joy as he praised his friend Gaius in the letter we know as 3 John.  

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We don’t know too much about Gaius. John trained him up in “the Way” (as it would’ve been called then), and then sent him to another city not knowing exactly how Gaius’ ministry would turn out. No Internet. No cell phones. No texting. No YouTube or Christianity for Dummies. Letters would’ve been exchanged infrequently at best. And like a farmer, the waiting began. Slowly, word trickled back to John that Gaius had remained true to spreading the Gospel of Christ. If you have ever been a coach, a teacher, a parent, a leader—then you know the feeling of seeing roots take hold in a person. In that way you can appreciate the joy that John felt.

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References to farming occur throughout Scripture. However, many of the references are parables for how we cultivate faith in others and in ourselves. Paul Chappell says, “No farmer quits in disappointment at not seeing crops the day after he plants his fields. He knows it takes time. Similarly, fruit in the Christian life—both the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of souls—takes time to multiply. And those who are faithful reap the benefit of seeing it developed.” Within each of us, the Holy Spirit is hard at work mentoring us to become more Christlike. And through us, the Holy Spirit assists others as they grow, too.

A mentor of mine goes by the name Dink. The book, Horse Soldiers, by Doug Stanton, which later became a movie, 12 Strong, tells the story of the first US Army Special Forces sent to Afghanistan after 9/11 and depicts several of Dink’s men. Dink had led these men back in the 80’s, and, little did he know, he was cultivating men who would one day lead the response to 9/11.  He instilled in them a mentality of innovation and independence.

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In September of 2001, Dink had been retired for 6 years, and he hadn’t spoken to many of his Soldiers since retirement. Dink lived in a small rural town in Georgia; he had not read Stanton’s book and he didn’t go watch the movie either. A few days after the premier of 12 Strong, several of the men portrayed in the film showed up to Dink’s house, and I happened to get an invite to drop by. They weren’t patting each other on the back about the movie. They had come by to check on Dink’s wife, Margaret, who at the time was dying of cancer.  

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I could see the joy in Dink’s eyes that his men would come by in-person to check on Margaret. Indeed, Ms. Margaret had mentored many of their wives as the Family Readiness Group leader in Japan and later in Kentucky. His joy was likely akin to what John experienced and expressed in his letter to Gaius. Dink had trained them, put in the work a decade prior to 9/11. They were the fruit of his labor and his love.  

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Even at the end of 2023, we can learn something from Dink and from John. We can slow down. We can trust that God is doing his part to grow the seeds that we have planted. Indeed, Alaskan winters are a great time to take it easy and free up some headspace. Even if we remain active through the cold months, inevitably there’s plenty of time to sit by a fire and reflect. What seeds have you planted years ago? Are you seeing the fruit of that labor yet?  

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Maybe you’re reading this, and you are new to Christianity. God is ready to use you today. You are blessed. I would encourage you to pray for God to reveal someone to you that you need to reach out to. If not someone you led to Christ, what about encouraging the person who led you to Christ? If you have planted a seed and that seed germinated in someone’s life, I am certain it will give you joy. Finally, if someone is in need spiritually today or this week, be bold and offer them the hope that you have. This is how we spread the joy of Christ.

Dear Lord, thank you for working a miracle in me. Thank you for calling me to lead a deeper life. Continue working on me and weed out anything that is not pleasing to you. Help me to be salt and light to others so that they too can share in the joy of the truth of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.