The Goal of Truth and Love

June 7, 2022

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 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 4:11-15 NLT

When we choose to follow Jesus the King, we become part of a family. Our identity changes. No matter what relational ties we have, our first and most primary identity is child of the Father, member of his family, the Church. When we honor and serve that identity well, our relationships everywhere become more authentic and honorable.

Paul teaches that as members of God’s family, the personal goal for each one of us is that we be mature in the Lord, living out the full and complete (grace and truth) standard of Jesus. He describes a few of the basic characteristics of that maturity:

  • We are characterized by unity, not division.
  • We will refuse to be childish.
  • We will be stable in our faith, not up and down with every new trend and circumstance.
  • We will be able to discern truth from lies.
  • We will speak and receive the truth to and from each other.

The result? In every way we will all grow more and more like Christ.

Doesn’t that describe the relationships that would be so very satisfying in the church? And it’s not supposed to be just there. Our families and our homes are intended to be outposts, little miniatures of Christ’s family, the church. What is true in the very best church relationships is true in the very best home relationships, and vice versa. That’s the goal of speaking the truth in love—we all grow up so our relationships honor Christ and satisfy us.

  • Jesus, I want to be like You and completely devoted to the fulfillment of Your goal in all my relationships. I will listen and follow today.