| Contending with Care |
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |
Contending with Care
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and
more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
— Ephesians 4:15
I remember walking down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki and seeing a
man holding a big sign with red flames and the words, "The wages of
sin is death." He was yelling out to people, "God hates you! God is
going to judge you! God is going to get you!" I watched as people
passed by, intentionally turning away from him.
Finally, I walked up to him and said, "Excuse me, I have a question. I
just wanted to say that while it is true that the wages of sin is death, as
your placard says so boldly, it is also true that the rest of that verse says
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why don't
you put that on the other side of your placard, and you could flip it
around periodically? You could give them the whole message."
The man then told me that I was going to hell. He was intent on
delivering a certain degree of truth in a contentious way.
When we read in Jude 3 that we are to contend for the faith, it doesn't
mean that we are to assault with the truth. It doesn't mean we are to
bludgeon people with it. The word "contend" in this verse actually
speaks of delivering the truth, but doing so in a loving manner. The
Bible tells us to speak the truth in love, which means professing God's
truth in a loving way.
It is important to know your theology and to know what the Bible
teaches. But it is also so very important to just love people. If we can
find the balance of lovingly presenting truth, it will be a powerful
combination.
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and
more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
— Ephesians 4:15
I remember walking down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki and seeing a
man holding a big sign with red flames and the words, "The wages of
sin is death." He was yelling out to people, "God hates you! God is
going to judge you! God is going to get you!" I watched as people
passed by, intentionally turning away from him.
Finally, I walked up to him and said, "Excuse me, I have a question. I
just wanted to say that while it is true that the wages of sin is death, as
your placard says so boldly, it is also true that the rest of that verse says
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why don't
you put that on the other side of your placard, and you could flip it
around periodically? You could give them the whole message."
The man then told me that I was going to hell. He was intent on
delivering a certain degree of truth in a contentious way.
When we read in Jude 3 that we are to contend for the faith, it doesn't
mean that we are to assault with the truth. It doesn't mean we are to
bludgeon people with it. The word "contend" in this verse actually
speaks of delivering the truth, but doing so in a loving manner. The
Bible tells us to speak the truth in love, which means professing God's
truth in a loving way.
It is important to know your theology and to know what the Bible
teaches. But it is also so very important to just love people. If we can
find the balance of lovingly presenting truth, it will be a powerful
combination.