truth in love.

“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25

If you had a twisted ankle, blind eye, swollen finger, or broken arm, wouldn't you do something to fix it? If a part of your body wasn't functioning correctly and it was hindering movement or your health, wouldn't you go to the doctor or do all you could to make it better?

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 says, “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slave or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” Just as our physical bodies are made up of many parts, so the Church is the body of Christ, and made up of many members.

The passage goes on to say, “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are all Christ's body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). Just as we would do something about a hurt body part, shouldn't we work to make sure that each member of the body of Christ is doing well? If not, all of the members suffer with it.

This verse in Ephesians commands us to speak truth to our neighbor, for we are all members of one another. As Christians, we are commanded to speak the truth in love, and kindly correct our brothers and sisters who are caught in their trespasses, or simply acting out of accordance with the rest of the body.

During orientation here at Potter's Field, they told us that if we have a problem with another person here, we need to operate how Jesus commanded us to in Matthew 18. We need to kindly confront and lovingly correct them. Recently, I have had a hard time speaking the truth when necessary. I have focused too much on being “loving” and not enough on exhortation and accountability. However, I need to be bold and confront a brother or sister when they are doing something that they shouldn't. We are supposed to be a team here at the Ranch, so if one of us is lagging behind or I notice that another intern is not doing well, I need to step up and speak out, encouraging them to do better and press on. “For if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; [and] if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

“and let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

September 1, 2011