Tuesday, July 2, 2013

By: Gwen Hitt

 

Truth Be Told (In Love) 

Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church."

 
Since my husband was out of town this past weekend, I allowed my granddaughters to sleep with me.  On Sunday morning, I woke up early to go to Church to teach my husband's leadership class. To avoid waking up my young granddaughters, I did not turn on the bedroom light as I was getting dressed.  

 

About ten minutes into the class, the youngest member of the group, an eleven year old boy, whispered to me that my shirt was on inside out! When I looked down, I realized that this was truly the case. I made a mental note that getting dressed in the dark was not a very wise thing to do - LOL.....

Now, I must add that this young man is extremely close to my family. Rather than having someone he cares for and respects stand in front of a group of people wearing a shirt inside out, he made the decision to speak the truth in love AS today's scripture instructs us to do.

As I reflected on this experience, I began to think of the courage it took for this young person to voice this observation. I then thought about the times that I hesitated doing the same in somewhat similar situations - a person with something stuck between their teeth, a person with toilet paper stuck on their shoe as they exited the restroom......OR, on a more serious note, a person heading down a path of destruction??

Would we as adults - as Christians - possess the same courage to address these situations as my young friend did?

Too often, we tend to ignore the situation in efforts to avoid offending others. However, God's Word instructs us to address these situations BUT to do so with love.  In fact, we are provided the following direction in Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother." 

I once read that there is a huge difference in communicating truth and speaking truth in love. Going to someone with the truth in love always includes affirmation and encouragement. My challenge to you today is to follow God's LEAD - tenderly speak God's truth to one another in love and compassion. 

Dear Lord, I ask that You help me to always speak the truth in love and compassion. My desire is to be more like You in this area. 

I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.