In Christ: Know It, Live It - 55 (Unity through Diversity - 10)

HOW can our serving one another always be effective for the building up of the church?

"...Speaking the TRUTH in LOVE, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ..." Ephesians 4:15

In this little phrase is captured the heart of all godly ministry in the church. Note:

• We DO need to SPEAK to one another. Communication is necessary. Words are our most powerful and precise means of communicating. The great challenge is always WHAT KIND of words will I use? What is the environment of my heart as I say them?
• We are to speak words of TRUTH. Does what I say accurately reflect "the faith" that we stand on, of which Christ is the cornerstone? Even our casual statements are reflections of what we believe. I once had a wise, experienced pastor share with me, after hearing me pray, that he knew what I believed and where I was spiritually after listening to me pray. I wasn't in a good place at that time and he could hear it as I tried to sound spiritual in my petitions. Am I HONEST with my brothers? Do others know I do not dwell in as rarefied a spiritual atmosphere as they think? Do I try to maintain the image, or do I share my needs, believing that I need the body of Christ? Am I willing to admonish my brother or offer correction as well as commend and encourage him? We need to KNOW TRUTH and BE TRUTHFUL in our relationships with one another. TRUTH is reality...God's reality. How desperately we need each other to reflect that reality when we are drifting in the personal fog of emotions or reeling from a disappointment or struggling with anger and bitterness. Sharing TRUTH helps us snap back into God's reality and His life and blessing. It calls us back from unbelief to faith.
• We are to speak the truth always in LOVE. Love makes truth palatable. I am willing to hear hard things from someone who is sharing them for my good. If I know you care, I will care to hear what you know. As well, LOVE will say what needs to be said, even if it crashes the party of self-delusion that is going on in our brother or sister's mind. If all my "loving" communication consists of pats on the back, I am probably guilty of man-pleasing because of fear. There are times that we all need to hear truth that grabs us by the collar and pulls us near, where we can feel the warm breath of our passionate brother, and tells us, in the name of God, to stand up and be a man. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, throw yourself on God!" Of course, there are times when we are just plain beaten down by life and the struggle with the flesh and we need someone to come alongside us and let us know we are not alone...that Christ is with us and so are they.

Truth in love. This is the way to serve one another so that our brothers and sisters can receive what we are trying to give. We are most often TRUTH heavy or LOVE heavy. Truth without love is hard to take because it comes like words on a stone tablet that is about to come down on my skull. Love without truth has no lifting, strengthening, reinforcing, hope-giving power. But speaking the truth in love is the perfect balance of help that comes in a way that can be embraced.