thicker than water,' but the giving over of
Mary to John's care proves that `spirit is
thicker than blood.' The truest bond between
men is sympathy with Christ." Through the
example of James and John we see that fam-
ily plays a huge part in our faith journey. Yet
in the example of James and Mary, we see
that our faith transcends even the closest of
our familial relationships.
wrote under the direction of the Holy Spirit:
the Gospel of John; John 1, 2 and 3, which are
letters; and the book of Revelation, the vision
that John received while he was in exile. Ac-
cording to church tradition, after John mirac-
ulously survived being thrown into boiling oil
under the Emperor Domitian, he was exiled
on the island of Patmos. Eventually he was al-
lowed to return to Ephesus where, unlike any
other apostle, John died of old age. His tomb
is still in Ephesus (modern�day Turkey). His
writings continue to educate and inspire, giv-
ing us a unique perspective outside of the
synoptic gospels.
every age throughout the world. Christ does
not attribute responsibility based upon age,
but upon our willingness to stand firm
on the Word of God, to bear witness to the
Christ of the cross and of the empty tomb
and finally to serve our risen King boldly
each and every day of our life.
leadership, we should seek to emulate
John's passion and feel excitement for what
the future holds. Yet at the same time we
remember that God gave the vision of the
new heaven and earth to John, an old man
"full of years." Of all the things John wit-
nessed and wrote down--from the transfigu-
ration to the empty tomb--it was of Christ
coming in His true glory that caused him
to say, "I, John, am the one who heard and
saw these things. And when I had heard
them and seen them, I fell down to worship"
(Revelation 22:8, NIV).
our knees in worship.
The Salvation Army in Jefferson City, Missouri.