[U]ntil all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. Ephesians 4: 13-16, NRSV.
Merciful Father, today we praise You for we are fearfully, and wonderfully made! You have created us with the capacity to love, and forgive, and encourage, each other. May we learn from You, how to love others in a way that will make them better people. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Today, I would like for us to consider another story in which Christ spoke the truth in love. What is worthy of observation in all of these examples, is that He did not compromise the truth. He had no need to, for truth has its place. Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14: 6). So Truth, as it is in Jesus, will lead us to the Father, and to life eternal. What gives power to, and acceptance of, truth, is the love that accompanies it. Scripture also tells us that , “God is love” (1 John 4: 8). Because the Father and the Son are One, we cannot have One (the Truth) without the Other (Love)! Unfortunately, many who shout “tell the truth,” the loudest, are not too anxious to, “show the love.” Let us look at how Jesus in a very compatible manner, shared both truth and love, with those He spoke to.
“You must be born again.” Here, Jesus is in conversation with Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin (the ruling religious and political body of the Jews), no less. Nicodemus has come to Jesus, I am sure, led by the Holy Spirit. This Man Jesus, has something that he has not seen in anyone else. No man has ever spoken with the authority that Jesus does. He wants to know more. But because of who he is, it is not wise for him to be seen, by the Jewish leaders, in the company of Jesus. So he goes to see the Master, under the covering, provided by the darkness of the night. Jesus could have reasoned, as most of us most likely would have, “I had better watch my words with this man. I do not want to get on his bad side. I might need him someday.” He could then have used flattery, in answering His questions. But “the Son of Man had come to seek and to save, that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10). He had come to give, not to get. And Jesus knew that the lost are to be found everywhere, even within the church!
So with the love that is characteristic of the Savior, He lets Nicodemus know what his real need is, that of a new birth; and that without this birth, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3: 3). Then He leads him to the Source of this new birth – the Holy Spirit (5, 8). Nicodemus is a religious leader. It is presumed, that the things of God, if not in their entirety, at least in their majority, are known to Him. You would assume, that very important, and basic, issues, such as they were discussing, would have been clear in Nicodemus’ mind. Perhaps, that is a point on which many Christians err, in dealing with one another. We assume, and presume, too much! Then when our assumptions, and presumptions, are proven wrong, we let the person feel our disappointment. We take it upon ourselves to tell them the truth. And because, as Christians, we must be honest, the truth sometimes becomes a whip, rather than a soothing balm, as we seek to “educate “one another. Unfortunately, that education is usually void of the most important ingredient, love! So we destroy one another in the process of educating one another. That is an oxymoron!
Notice Jesus’ gentle rebuke to Nicodemus, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things” (10)? Now listen to what follows, “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony” (11, emphasis provided). In other words, “You do not understand these things, because you have refused to receive the truth.” Jesus always told the truth, but He always told it, in love.