3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers. AMPC
Beloved— do you know the meaning of this Word? It is dearest, precious, adored, cherished, prized, worshiped, revered, and more like these. John was speaking for God and God is saying to you and me, beloved, dearest, precious, cherished, prized one.
I believe this Word (beloved) was meant to identify not only how God feels about us, but to personalize that feeling, and only to start with. Then as he goes on to say this is My will for you that you prosper in every way, that your body keep well, even as your soul keeps well and prospers.
I believe this is God’s heart to us, His deepest desire for us, His children. That we know His love for us, that we are precious to Him. We are His prized, cherished ones. We can't skip this introduction as just dearly beloved, we can’t miss the wholeness, the un-brokenness of His love for us.
When we tell our kids we love them, they can’t get that until they see us in action. They can't get that love just by us saying we love them, as can we His.
We can only see that love and know those Words He speaks as personally to us, when we experience life with HIm. As we tenderly, affectionately walk beside Him, let Him put His arms around us and love us, is when we can know that love. When we let Him embrace us with His wholeness, His love He has for us, when we sit quietly in His presence, we can know that love. Just as we sit quietly with our children embraced in our arms, they feel our love, we can His.
Then in those memories of love with Him, in those moments we need Him, we can reflect and know we are HIs beloved. In life then, we know we are important to Him and we can walk in that truth, prospering in every way. Prospering in our soul which is happening in those very moments as we spend life with Him.
When we share in our sorrow and our pain, when we share in trust our emotions, with HIm and as He consoles our hearts, with His truth, we prosper in that love He holds for us. We have the knowing that He is there and that He is faithful. He is our confidence!
Next we start to prosper in our bodies, we start that truth process in knowing we don't have to be sick, we don't have to carry that disease, or be harassed because we know He was sick for us. He rescued us from the grave so we don't have to die, we don't have to grieve. All we have to do is live in His arms, live there, breath there, adore Him and let Him adore us!
Right? Don't you adore your kids, don't you long to hold them and love on them, brag on them? You adore them and your Father, my Father adores me, and He adores you.
He desires then also that we live in financial freedom as well as being free from sickness and disease. He desires we be free from every bondage, everything, anything that would hold us captive. Spirit, soul, and body!
As we experience life with Him, let Him hold us and comfort us, as we let go and just trust HIm, He will set us free from the debt we live in. As we come to the altar where He is, He will teach us to walk in His truth, and that truth will set us free. That truth, HIs truth, as we live with HIm, will prosper us in every way.
Live in Him then, experience life with Him rather than looking in, be in the picture with Him. There, in that place in that picture you will find in Him the confidence to be HIs beloved, and live prosperous spirit, soul, and body!