Truth & Love

I have a few friends who have loved me boldly. They are the ones who have called me out on the things they've seen. They risked the discomfort of confrontation to point out areas where I needed to grow.

I also have a few friends who speak the truth boldly. They are the ones who risk some hate online. They are the ones who refuse to turn a blind eye to unrighteousness. They are the ones who refuse to let fear dominate their hearts and minds.

These friends have the same thing in common — they Love God and love their neighbor.

Love puts God first — His plan, His glory, His fame. Then love for God overflows into love for our neighbor — their best, before our rights and comfort.

These friends know... Love embraces the truth, lives out the truth, and speaks the truth. Love walks the narrow road, makes the hard choices, gives up their rights. Love is not easy, comfortable, or convenient. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).

I will always be thankful for friends who genuinely love me.

My best friend does this the best (cue cheesy grin). Ever faithful, He has been exposing areas that are dead and need to be cut out. Recently, He showed me that if I want to love people as radically as He did, I must live out the truth, even if it is in opposition to the norm. I must speak the truth even if my voice shakes. Because love without truth is not love at all.