“True love” is one of our favorite cultural tropes; it’s shorthand for our romantic hopes. But when John addresses the “chosen lady” at the beginning of 2 John, and does so with love, we need a different interpretive context. Against the background of what we’ve already seen in 1 John, it’s clear that when John says he loves the chosen lady “in the truth,” he means the kind of love that befits and embodies the gospel.