Speaking Truth in Love

Navigating Opposition and Sharing God's Word with Grace and Love

Do you ever think about how well we "speak truth" in other people's lives? We aren't talking about gossip or being the "know-it-all." We refer to true biblical Truth, especially when the Holy Spirit moves it. In our devotion, we continue to read through 2 Timothy, where Paul speaks a lot of biblical Truth into Timothy's life. We will start this morning with some great advice from Paul to Timothy:

"Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth" 2 Timothy 2:25

Is that how we typically handle opposition? We know that is not always the case…when met with opposition, we often bolster our forces and try to muscle our way through the conversation. So, what is the secret to sharing Truth in a way that honors God? As we explored this further, we reflected on the following verse:

"Instead, 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."  Ephesians 4:15

Speaking Truth in love—what a powerful concept! According to our search, the word Love is used almost 600 times in the Bible, and the worth of Truth is a little over 300. One might say you need twice as much love to deliver the Truth!

How often do you get in a situation where you sense someone needs some biblical truth spoken into their lives, but you need help with how to deliver it? Maybe we are tempted to water it down, change the subject, and not address it. Further down in Ephesians 4, Paul continues:

"Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body"  Ephesians 4:25

As Christians, we are all on the same team, all members of ONE body! Paul continues in the next verse to remind us that we should avoid sin in our anger. We don't know about you guys, but when we start to have anger build, we aren't very good at speaking Truth! It reminds us of the preflight instructions on flights, which teach you to secure your oxygen before attempting to help others. It sure does help to get our mind right before we try to speak the Truth into another's life!

As we write the "Fist Bump" each week, we want you to know that we try to speak some biblical truth out of love for each of you. We aren't pastors, nor do we have formal training. We may state some things incorrectly occasionally, so we appreciate your GRACE. We want each of you to know that we care about you, are praying for you this morning, and wish you a week full of God's love, grace, mercy, and Truth!