October 22nd

In Search of Aletheia

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deed. 2 John 10-11

Speak the truth in love. You've heard that one before, right? It doesn't take much trying to live it out, though, before you realize that it sometimes is harder than it seems.

When we think of loving someone, we rightly think of things like forbearance, patience,

and forgiveness-things that help us put up with knuckleheaded people and overlook the flaws in their lives.

But when we think of truth, we think of a hard-edged, unmoving, black and white reality that leaves little room for the grace we associate with love. So how do we reconcile love and truth, two things that seem to conflict with each other.

Jesus is our perfect example of this, as John 1:14 testifies, saying, And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus came as the living answer to the truth of our predicament. He did not gloss over the sinful condition of the world or deny that we would spend eternity in Hell without Him. However, He also did not bash this reality over our heads or shove our own sinfulness in our faces.

Rather, He came as the answer to the problem. And whoever will acknowledge both the truth of the problem and the truth of the answer will receive the fullness of His grace in their life and be saved.

When the woman caught in adultery was thrown at Jesus' feet, His mercy delivered her from the truth of her sin into the truth of a new life in Him. Our job is to do the same. When we see sinfulness and the effects of sinful living around us, what do we do? We intercede, we rescue, we save, and whenever we can, we heal and deliver.

Romans 3:23 tells us that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet Jesus showed us this glory in grace and truth. The truth recognized our sinful reality, yet the grace exchanged our reality for His.

As we testify of the full truth-both the truth of our sinful past and the truth of our transformed present and future-then others will hear the truth in love. We cannot only speak of people's sin, or they justly feel condemned and hopeless. However, if we will tell them the truth of how Jesus could change their lives, then we are speaking the truth in love.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being the picture of grace and truth! Please fill me with Your love and truth, and help me to be the same picture to others that You are to me!

Amen