Speaking the Truth in Love

Bob’s TFT Wednesday 04-02-2025

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

For some strange reason, I smiled when I read this passage today. Sometimes, we want to tell people what we think, but this passage does not discuss that. The purpose of this conversation is not to get something off our chests but rather to strengthen the Body of Christ and renew our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

You may irritate me, I you, but Paul wants us to put that type of speech behind us and speak only the truth in love. What is the truth, then, that Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected to teach us how to love each other? This instruction will require our surrender and may result in our suffering, but the truth must be shared.

We are so focused on the here and now and getting what we want done that we want to satisfy our hearts' desires. We fail to comprehend the breadth and depth of Christ’s love for us and His call to lift each other up in prayer and serve each other in love.

Life is often complicated, and communication is muddled by technology without emotion, even with emojis and gifs. We no longer sit and chat, sharing our life’s trials and tribulations as we learn to love and trust each other. As a result, when we speak, we tend to look for hidden agendas rather than the truth in love.

Many have stopped gathering for fellowship, prayer, and the breaking of bread, where hospitality is the reason for gathering. Is the problem with the world summed up in the fact that we live as individual islands rather than as a continent of sharing?

Let’s change our thinking and our way of life by caring for each other as God has cared for us. Let’s speak to each other in truth, sharing the grace and mercies of God that we have received so that all may experience God’s love as we endure life together.