Saturday, September 15, 2012

Speak the truth in love.

Ever have those people in your lives that tell you that Christians are closed minded bigots?  I often wonder how they get off saying that without realizing the very nature of that statement is indicating the same of themselves.

So I decided to type in "Truth" in my iPhone bible app.  I was looking to do a little bible reading and study about some more truths.

Ephesians 4:15 popped up.
"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. "

That directed me to read more in this chapter.  I continued on to the next verse.  "With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused." (v18) "Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him." 


Though many Christians come across wrong. I think they lack the motivation of delivering the message correctly.  As Ephesians states it says to speak the truth in love.  I often forget this. When hearing these things it offends my flesh. But my spirit is screaming "DO IT IN LOVE!" 

Through different messages, and coming into conflict of people who have forgotten God's word.  He is teaching me.  He is teaching me with each word spoken, with each post, that the purpose behind it is to deliver the message in love.

God will use our words to deliver the message straight to their hearts and the words will be heard. He will empower our words. 

The chapter goes on to talk about no longer living as the Gentiles do. Meaning no longer living according to the world's ways. Or living in such a way that our motivations, our thoughts, our words and our actions are now different from the world.
It says in v18 about their minds being full of darkness, and wandering far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  The world has completely closed their minds to anything of God.

v19- It talks of the world having no sense of shame, lust, pleasure, and practice every kind of impurity with eagerness.  v20 but that is NOT what we have learned about Christ and since you heart about Jesus and learned the truth comes from HIM. v22 trade your old ways (ways of this world) for Christ's way.  Our ways are full of lust, sin, destruction, deception...Christ can renew these worldly ways and make us into something new and something with better thoughts and attitudes.

You can read through the end of that chapter yourself.  He ends it with being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving, just as God through Christ forgave us.

So, when your flesh is offended. When someone comes against you.  Think about how you could respond. Respond with the purpose he gave. To spread love. To Empower our words with his truth and his love.  Not everyone will receive it. But the seed of love will be planted.

You can read the parable of the farmer and the seed in Luke 8 starting with verse 4.  Jesus explains as you read the chapter that the seed is God's word.  There will be seeds that hear the message but let the devil steal it from them, there will be seeds that receive it with joy but don't have deep roots, they believe for a while then fall away when faced with temptation, then there are seeds the fall among the thorns that is represented of those who hear but allow his word to be crowded out by the cares and riches, and pleasures of this life and it never matures. 
Then there is seeds that fall on good soil which represent good hearted people who hear God's word, cling to it, and patiently produce a good harvest.

We have the chance to choose what we will do with the seed.  We have a choice to spread the word in love.  It can be a struggle with all the bad we see in today's world. But don't let your heart be hardened. We have work to do.  We can help each other. Let's find someone to love and feed them God's word.

God's truth is not an opinion. It's his word.

No comments:

Post a Comment