Ephesians 4:14-16 (New King James Version) “14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Summer months are wonderful times to get out and do extra things with our family. At the same time it can be times where we may have our patience with each other challenged a bit more. It can be from having the kids home and them getting “too much” of each other. It can be from times our plans don’t work out the way we would like. There are lots of opportunities to “grow” and sometimes we just want to “tell each other like it is.”
This can happen between believers as well. Sometimes the words are said that can be hurtful to each other, leaving “bad seed” in each other’s hearts. Sometimes in the church we tell each other “little white lies.” This is not what this verse is speaking about when it says, “speaking the truth in love.” Those words are followed by very important ones – “may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ.” I don’t know about you but I want to fully “grow up.” He is the one who joins us together and causes us to really function the way we are created to be. Being joined & knit together is what causes us to bring about the “growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
I sure want that kind of growth which will edify those around me in love, but how to keep it truthful. I read an article recently about a Pastor, Phil Callaway, who took the challenge to tell the total truth for a year. After a couple months he shared that he realized he had a lot to learn. He came up with a key… Phil Callaway, in his book, To Be Perfectly Honest has an acronym for truth-telling: THINK. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Does it Inspire? Is it Necessary? Am I Kind about it? These words became the microscope he used to examine the “truth” he was going to share, before he shared it. I think it was a great thing to keep in mind when we want to share the truth with each other.
