Kindness to the Knock at the Door
Month 5: What About Other Religions? · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: 2 John 1:7-11
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. 9 Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. 11 Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.
Memory Verse
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”— 1 Timothy 2:5 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Joshua 13-15
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (The land is divided among the tribes of Israel.)The Heart of It
Sometimes people come to share a different religion. They might come to our door, or our group chat, or our classroom. John writes about "deceivers" who teach a wrong view of Jesus (). He tells believers not to partner with their teaching or help spread it. That doesn't mean we slam the door or get rude. It means we don't have to nod along with something false just to be polite. And we shouldn't help carry a wrong message about Jesus to others. We can be warm to the person while staying firm about the truth. Loving people and agreeing with everything they say are not the same thing.
So how do we love someone who believes very differently? We treat them like a real person God loves. We're kind. We're respectful. We're curious about them. We listen well. When they ask what we believe, we answer honestly, and we point gently to the real Jesus. But we don't pretend their teaching is true. And we don't get swept up into it. Jesus Himself was full of both "grace and truth" (). He was never one without the other. Some people think being loving means saying "you're right, and I'm right too." But the kindest thing you can ever do is tell someone the truth about Jesus, with a smile and a soft voice. Truth without love is harsh. And love without truth isn't really love at all.
Around the Table
When someone says something that isn't true about Jesus, we can be friendly and not agree. Kind face, true words!
Let's do it: Practice a kind voice: "Thank you for sharing! I believe Jesus is God's Son." Say it with a smile.
We can be welcoming to people without agreeing with wrong teaching about Jesus. We love the person and hold onto the truth.
Let's talk: What's the difference between being unkind and just disagreeing? How can you disagree nicely?
John warns against partnering with false teaching. He doesn't warn against being polite. Watching what you believe guards the gospel. Being kind guards the relationship. You need both.
Let's go deeper: How would you respond if a friendly person at your door taught something that left Jesus out as God? What would you say, and what would your tone be?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's a way to disagree with someone that still leaves them feeling respected and liked? Can you act it out?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says "if you really loved people, you'd accept all beliefs as equally true," you can gently explain. Loving someone doesn't mean agreeing with everything. A good friend tells you the truth even when it's hard. We can honor every person and still say Jesus is the one Mediator (). Hold grace and truth together, "with gentleness and respect" ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
2 John gives us a careful balance our culture struggles to hold. We refuse to endorse false teaching. Yet we never abandon Christlike kindness. Many believers fall into one ditch or the other. Some become harsh "truth warriors" who win arguments and lose people. Others become "nice" people who affirm everything and stand for nothing. Your kids need to watch you live out the third way. When the Jehovah's Witness or the kind neighbor of another faith comes around, how do you speak about them at the dinner table afterward? Do your children hear contempt? Or do they hear, "There's a real person Jesus loves, and here's where their teaching about Christ goes wrong"? Grace and truth aren't a balancing act where you trade one for the other. Jesus was full of both at once. Lead your family to be the same.
Draws on: Sean McDowell & J. Warner Wallace, So the Next Generation Will Know.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, help our family love every person we meet. Help us love even those who believe very differently. Give us warm hearts and true words. Help us honor people and never hide Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen."
Kind face, true words. I can love the person and still hold onto the truth about Jesus.