Love Notes from Abby: Speaking Truth in Love
Transcript:
Good morning. Good morning. I hope that your day is off to a great start.
Yesterday we began our series about truth, and our scripture was,
“Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ”
If we wanted to look at one verse that is one of those foundational, fundamental beliefs, it would begin with John 14:6.
As we continue exploring this concept of truth, that's going to be our foundational fundamental piece.
Today we're going to be talking about what does it mean to speak truth in love.
I think there could be some misconceptions here that if we're going to love someone, if we're gonna be kind to someone that it's almost as though we have to either agree with them or tip toe around hard conversations and things like that.
But let's look and see what the Bible says.
“Speaking the truth in love. We will grow to become in every respect, the mature body of him. Who is the head that is, Christ. ”
So this is Paul, and he's talking to the church in Ephesus. And what are you saying is that when we speak the truth in love, that is how we mature the body.
That's how we help one another grow, when we speak the truth, the truth of Jesus and all that the Bible says when we speak that to someone that is love.
Because it's very easy, especially for new believers to be deceived that we are to speak truth to them so that we can all grow in maturity.
We're to train one another in truth, those foundational Gospel truths, the truths about who God is and what He's called us to do.
And sometimes that also includes the hard truths, the truth where we have to correct someone if they're going down the wrong path.
And that's where in our society we have to reshape and retrain how we view that.
If we truly believe what we say we believe, because we love the world, because Jesus loves the world, then we are compelled to tell people of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
This truth in love.
When we look at the love aspect of it, we're looking at agape love.
Agape love is a sacrificial love.
It is a love that is not at all self-serving and it is truly for the benefit of the loved one.
We speak in order to build other believers up because we want them to stay on the straight and narrow path. Truth in love is one of our most powerful weapons to combat the devil and to combat the evil that is in our world.
We understand that speaking the truth in love is not so much about having this super sweet demeanor as it is about the way truth and love go hand in hand.
Because we love one another, we must speak the truth. Because we know the truth, we must be characterized by our love.
So that's my charge for you today.
Where are areas where you can truly speak truth because of your love, even when it's hard, even when it's a challenge because your love for people is so great?
Can I just tell you that I appreciate you listening to love notes. I appreciate you being a part of this ministry. I am amazed at what God is doing.
If you know someone who could benefit from some truth in love, forward this on over to them because we will be stronger together when we unite and we are strengthened in the Word of God and we have bathed ourselves in that truth so that we can make a difference in the world.
You know I love and appreciate you. Now go take on your day.
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