This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Building Together: “It Takes ALL of us” (WATCH HERE)
Ephesians 4:14–16 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Truth and love are sometimes treated as opposites. We hear people say, “I just want to speak the truth,” as though love isn’t part of the conversation. Others avoid difficult truths because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But Scripture refuses to separate the two.
Truth without love can become a weapon. Love without truth can become an indulgence.
God calls us to something better: truth spoken and lived in love.
Paul says that spiritual maturity means we are no longer like children who are “tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching” (Ephesians 4:14). Instead, we are to “speak the truth in love” and “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
Truth gives us something solid to stand on. God’s Word tells us what is true about God, about ourselves, about sin, and about salvation. It doesn’t simply tell us what we want to hear. Second Timothy reminds us that Scripture is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Sometimes the truth hurts because it exposes something in us that needs to change.
But notice how God gives us that truth. He doesn’t expose our sin so that He can shame us. He exposes our sin so that He can lead us to our Savior.
God loves us enough to tell us the truth, and He tells us the truth because He loves us.
That becomes our model for our relationships with others.
Speaking truth in love doesn’t mean avoiding difficult conversations. Sometimes love requires us to say something that is difficult to hear. But it also doesn’t mean using truth as a weapon to win an argument, prove we’re right, or make someone feel small.
Before we speak, we can ask:
Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it loving? Will this help build the other person up?
Sometimes truth needs to be spoken.
Sometimes love means listening.
Sometimes the most loving thing we can say is, “I’m sorry.”
Sometimes it is, “I forgive you.”
Sometimes it is, “Can I share something I’m concerned about?”
And sometimes it is simply, “I’m here for you.”
When truth and love come together, relationships become healthier and the church becomes stronger. We become less vulnerable to deception because we are grounded in God’s Word, and we become more united because we aren’t using truth to tear one another down.
Truth grounds us. Christ grows us. Love builds us.
Today, ask God to help you become someone who can be trusted with both truth and love.
Reflect
- Is there a relationship in my life where I have avoided speaking a necessary truth, or where I have spoken truth without enough love? What might Christlike truth and love look like in that relationship?
- When God’s Word corrects or challenges me, do I receive it as condemnation or as the loving voice of my Savior calling me back to Him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the truth, and You have loved me enough to tell me the truth about my sin and my need for You. Thank You for giving me Your Word to guide, correct, teach, and strengthen me. Forgive me when I use truth to hurt others or hide behind love to avoid difficult truths. Give me wisdom to know when to speak, courage to speak what is right, and compassion to speak with love. Help me remain grounded in Your Word and grow to reflect Your love. Use my words to build others up and point them toward You. Amen.