In 2 John 4-6 he talks about how we should walk with God. He is rejoicing that they are walking in truth which translates to abiding in God and walking with Jesus. “I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.” Trapp explains it this way: “Not taking a step or two, not breaking or leaping over the hedge to avoid a piece of foul way, but persisting in a Christian course, not starting aside to the right hand or the left.” Walking in the truth is not an optional decision. God has commanded us to walk in truth. It’s why we need to be in His Word which is the foundation of truth.
John again reminds us of the commandment that we’ve been given. “And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.” John presses us to realize that this is important stuff and we must love each other. It’s not new or mysterious. It’s been God’s heart and commandment for a very long time. John knows how important it is so he repeats it again and again before this letter and here reinforces and reminds us to make it so. The integrity of our Christian walk can be measured by how we life out this commandment.
John defines what it means to love one another. “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” If we love God, we will obey His commandments. We do this not because we think His commandments are heavy burdens, but because we see that they are best for us. They are guides and gifts to us from God. Real love will always walk with love through obedience. Perhaps John warned against those who thought the only important thing in the Christian life was a vague love that had no concern for obedience.
Meyer explains “Perhaps you fail to distinguish between love and the emotion of love. They are not the same. We may love without being directly conscious of love, or being able to estimate its strength and passion. Here is the solution to many of our questionings: They love who obey.” Love requires action, not merely a warm feeling. We can’t truly love others without first loving God and His Son Jesus Christ which will translate into a desire to be obedient to the truth. That’s what we are called to do – to walk in truth which will in turn cause us to love and be the person God intends us to become.
Arlin Sorensen's Thoughts on Scripture 