November 30 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Ephesians 4:13-24

¹³Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
¹⁴That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
¹⁶From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
¹⁷This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
¹⁸Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
¹⁹Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
²⁰But ye have not so learned Christ;
²¹If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
²²That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
²³And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
²⁴And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Devotional:

If we were to give in a sentence one of the most valuable secrets of success in inter-personal relations, that sentence might well be drawn from verse 15: speak the truth in love. Honest, loving communication promotes a good relationship. We have said it before. We say it again. Speaking the truth in love means, first of all, speaking! It means expressing those hidden feelings which may have been simmering within for years. There is no place for clamming up or applying the silent treatment. Speak!

Speaking the truth in love means speaking truly. We must not allow deceit or subterfuge to creep into the words we say. We must not gloss over our own sins or present a slanted viewpoint of a story or situation. Bring things out in utter honesty.

God's way does not resemble a group therapy approach which in some situations permits attacking others to give release to one's own built-up anger. There must be gentleness, an awareness of how the truth may really hurt the hearer or strain the relationship for a while. It requires speaking the truth in love. A loving presentation of the truth firmly and tenderly builds the desired relationship and promotes the growth of each believer.

Are there things in our marriage which have been hidden, maybe for years, lying under the surface, smoldering, causing tension? Are there things which, tomorrow, when they can no longer be stifled, may result in an explosion capable of bringing injury to several persons? Now is the time to learn the lesson of Ephesians 4 and speak out concerning these things in all truth and in love.

There may be some hurt at first. But the surgeon hurts, too. After an initial adjustment the love will heal the hurt and there will be growth, both in the life of the speaker and in that of the one to whom he has spoken.

Be careful! Speaking the truth in love has the potential for harm! It takes a courageous and mature person to do it and a humble and mature person to accept it! However, we are still spiritually immature if we avoid it, and we are being disobedient to God!