Speak truthfully with the love of Christ, Ephesians 4:15

Good morning everyone!  God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

Well, Happy Labor Day All!  May your day be happy, free of stress, free of work, and courteous to others who are around you or help you.  A great day to be alive in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, we speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church."

Friday I title the devotion "Oh, grow up," as Christ wishes us to grow spiritually.  I will pick up here in verse 15.  When talking about the mature Christian, Paul says that one of the marks is the ability to "speak the truth in love."  This sounds simple and we may think 'oh, I do.'  However, it is hard for us to do.  Some of us will speak the truth but forget to do so lovingly.  We take pride is saying things like I speak my mind, or I just tell it like it is.

Some of us are quite loving, but just don't have it in us to tell someone and be truthful with them. It is painful for us to do so at the time. However, I can tell you from experience, this will create problems later on.  

The instructions here is to do both; tell the truth, but tell the truth lovingly, with the love of Christ.  This would spare us of trouble later on if we followed this practice, especially when dealing the other members of the body we call the church.

When we have a problem with someone, another member of the body of Christ, we should go to them. But, I would warn you to pray about it diligently first, and then let the Spirit lead you as you go.  Have a good mature conversation with that person with love and not with rude, cutty, and sharp comments but with loving words in truth.

Because you are "tuff" and tell it like it is does not make it right.  Because you are "loving" and hold it in does not make it right.  Take EVERYTHING to GOD in PRAYER.  Love you all. Now go forth and do the right thing.

In Christ's Love and Grace
    Johnny