Hereby We Know...

John was a man of extremes. A "son of thunder," John's passions were deep and complex. His priorities had to change many times during his life in order to fulfill his responsibilities. He was the "lover" of truth and a "warrior" against untruth all his life. He loved "righteousness" to the extreme and abhorred "evil" to the extreme.As a youth, John was a fisherman working with his father and brother James learning to become the "keeper" of their business. He was also a dedicated Jew looking for the Messiah. When confronted with the ministries of John, the Baptist, and later Jesus, John chose righteousness over "the establishment," which was the system of Jewish tradition. He chose Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy over popular conformity. He was no longer a "keeper." He became a "changer."John's decision also made him a rebel, an outlaw in the eyes of the Jews. He followed Jesus with extreme love and dedication. His role as a homeless "changer" continued through the death and resurrection of Christ.John had left his family at an early age seeking to "change" the world, or at least the Jewish world, but now, charged with the care of Mary, the mother of Jesus, he was becoming more the guardian of his new family. He was becoming more the "keeper" again rather than the "changer." No longer "homeless," he became "homebound."Thrust into the leadership of the first century church, John became the "keeper" and protector of the new "Christian establishment" rather than the "changer" of a system. His efforts to reach into the world's "system" of other religions and bring "change" by leading people into the light of Christ continued but now he was becoming more the man who was charged with "keeping" the system, the "establishment" of Christianity.John continued the battles of "changing" and "keeping" under the guidance of the Holy Spirit until his tired old body could give no more. Encumbered with the physical difficulties of extreme age, John began instead to write, perhaps using some of his personal journals. His final work produced some of the "most beautiful teachings of love, truth, and fellowship" as well as some of the "harshest condemnation of untruth and evil" in our New Testament. His writings at his extremely "old" and feeble age burst forth with the same strength, boldness, and willingness to fight the good fight of his "youth." John remained a true, "son of thunder" until the end.