13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
It seemed so odd to me at the time.
But as I reflect on it, this form of letter writing makes sense.
First, it lets you know right off the bat who is writing you. No looking down to the signature to who it is from. :)
Second, despite what news or comments the letter contains, a friendly greeting always closes the letter of, leaving you encased in the love the person writing.
In this case, John has lots he wants to write to the "lady" but decides not to do so since he dearly wants to just come for a visit. He sends along the greetings of "the elect sister's children".
Visiting the elect Lady would make his joy complete.
This reminds me of my mom. When my sister comes home with her family from out west and my brother with his family from Ottawa, my mom is just SO happy when all of her family is gathered around her.
So should we be when we can gather with fellow believers. We should have that joy when we are all together, able to visit and tell of the things God is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Don't you think?