The Truth in Love

Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

I was intrigued this Sunday in church as an earthly relationship shed light on a Godly concept. We talked about the need to understand God as both holy and gracious. Acknowledgment of God's grace allows us to receive forgiveness, yet the acknowledgment of God's holiness allows us to see that we need this forgiveness in the first place. God pours out his grace lovingly for us to take in, yet His truth must first bring us to our knees in preparation.

I was reminded in this sermon that we can't grow in any relationship - on this earth or beyond - without truth. We are called not only to speak truth in love, but to listen to truth as well. So many of my relationships have grown because of the well-intentioned truth behind them. In the same way, we are called to seek truth in our relationship with God: to lay our cares and concerns before him, and to open ourselves in a way that allows him to speak right to our core.

James 3:8 "Come near to God and he will come near to you."

So often, I miss the mark on this. I ignore the freedom that comes from being honest with God, and instead bury my thoughts under fake and fleeting prayers. I hesitate to listen in for the truth in God's response, fearful that I simply may not like what I hear. But real love - radical love - steps out in faith, completely vulnerable, and seeks the truth.

Isaiah 41:13 "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."