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What do you think the lecturer means when she says “loving one another is based on truth”? Why is this an important concept to understand?
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Loving one another is based on truth, because it is written in the Bible many times. It is what God calls us to do as Christians. This is an important concept to understand because in order for us to love we must first have a relationship with Christ in order to grow in love.
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Some of the meaning here is that God created us in love, and since God is love and truth, if we are to follow His example, we must love one another.
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We do not want others to be deceived by the lies of the enemy so if we love them, we will speak the truth to them in a nurturing way. The “love” referred to in this Ephesians 4:15 is agape love, a self-sacrificial love that works for the benefit of the loved one. We speak truth in order to build up.
It can be hard to understand because the truth of God’s word is not always easy and, in our society, people want to be in control, have their own opinions, and live life on their own terms. God and His word is always for our benefit, but it can be opposite of the way the “world” thinks. Sometimes bringing the truth of God’s word has been seen as judgmental and intolerant, but as long as we are speaking out with a heart of compassion and unction to help others, we should not back away in fear of being rejected. -
If I really love someone, I will tell them the truth. It is important to understand this because tolerance is not love. It is just getting by for the time being and then going, “Phew, I dodged that difficult conversation and they still like me as a friend.” Truth is what people want – but truth in love, truth told with grace. If we really love that person, we will be able to do that through the Holy Spirit.
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To truly love, we must be willing to apply Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Love doesn’t sit by and allow people to make choices that will be detrimental, love will speak up and speak life into those people, guiding them toward the light, toward righteousness. Even when those people the volume of our words down and continue down their path, we are to continue to whisper truth. Our motive for reproach and correction has to be founded in Christ, His love for them and desire to not see one sheep lost. I have done a study with a 6th grade course where we looked at the word “emet,” truth in Hebrew. The letters of the word in Hebrew are directly affiliated with Christ. So, when we speak truth, we speak Christ, we speak life, we speak living water. It is a great word study and I encourage anyone to explore how it is all connected. There is much deeper meaning in the word “emet” than simply what you find on paper (or the internet) when you connect all the dots that you find. When we love, it is from Christ.
