love isn’t enough…
I’m completely unqualified to speak on this giant topic, I fully understand.
Utterly unqualified.
I’m talking about: Mass shootings. Hate crimes. Human trafficking. Violence.
How did our country get so lost?
The problem seems so big….so beyond me.
It feels like there is nothing I can do that would make a difference.
Have you felt that way, friends? Helpless?
Yet, I keep asking God this question: what can I do to help change our world?
I want to know. I want to help. I don’t want to do nothing.
It’s difficult to know where to start because everyone has an opinion on a solution…
Some say we need tougher laws and more control.
Some say we need different leadership.
Some say we need more love and more acceptance.
Maybe. Maybe those solutions are all a piece of the puzzle.
But I think it’s more than any of those things.
For several months, God has been speaking to me about this very question…what can I do?
He has been slowly revealing his wisdom to me as I dive deeper into his Word.
And even though I know I am just a stay-at-home-mom, with no credentials, I feel like he is asking me to share what I have discovered.
I’m nervous…because I feel so inadequate. Yet, I am driven forward by a desire to be faithful.
I share what God has shown me with a humble heart, not a condemning or finger pointing heart. The message I am writing has completely changed my life, and my desire is that this information invites you into a reflection of the state of your own heart.
May I humbly assert that I think we are fundamentally missing the real problem? In order to fix what is broken, we have to address the real issue. The root of the problem isn’t weapon availability or authority figures or even exclusivity. It’s deeper than that. The root of the problem lies within the belief system that creates those attitudes and behaviors.
The real problem is that we, as a society, have lost the truth.
Discarded it. Rejected it. Dismissed it.
The steady decline in the belief of absolute truth and the steady decline in moral behavior go hand in hand. The less we hold to truth, the less we love our neighbor.
We’ve lost the ability to really love because we have the lost the truth.
The loss of absolute truth has led to moral decay.
As a result, the solution for this giant problem must address the issue of how we return to truth… the truth and love.
There cannot be real love without truth. They cannot be separated. But we have done that: we have tried to take the truth out of love and to take the love out of truth. In the name of tolerance and inclusivity and freedom, we have mistakenly ripped apart a bond that was never meant to be broken. Jesus made that clear in John 14 and 15 as he was preparing his disciples for his death.
- 14:14-17: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”
- 15:9-12 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey the Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”
The words Jesus spoke, his commands, were truth. He was love in its truest form and he was the truth in its purest form. He was the ultimate example of BOTH LOVE AND TRUTH and he commanded us to do the same.
During the trial before his crucifixion, Jesus said to Pilate, the Roman governor (John 18:37), “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
Jesus came to bring truth and then died to show his love.
Love and truth. Jesus exemplified both, because one without the other is a recipe for disaster.
Without truth, love will fail because it allows for the presence of sin. Truth is the safeguard that keeps our love for each other holy and pure. Without it, there is no “wrong.” We easily justify our greed, selfishness, pride, and hatred. When truth is subjective, we make allowance for any action, no matter how morally repugnant. Whatever we “feel” is right, becomes right. Our love becomes tainted with sin.
It’s a slippery slope, that kind of non-truth. Small lies and little wrongs quickly give way to big lies and devastating wrongs against others. Pretty soon, love isn’t love anymore.
And unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened in our country in the name of freedom…we have thrown out the very truth that binds us together in perfect love. We have wrongly equated the subjectivity of truth with freedom, when lack of truth actually brings bondage to sin. As we wander further from truth, our love becomes weaker and less effective.
Love isn’t enough, because we are depraved human beings.
Love without truth isn’t the righteous love of God.
It’s not God’s kind of love.
If we want to manifest the kind of godly love that breaks chains, mends hearts, crosses lines, and overcomes destruction, we must love with a love that is rooted in God’s truth.
That’s why Jesus told us that unless a branch remains in him (He is the truth, John 14:6), it cannot produce fruit. We need love to be infused with truth for it to be transformative. Therefore, we must be:
Reading truth.
Abiding in truth.
Humbling ourselves to its correction.
Living by it’s principals.
Speaking truth.
Producing the fruit of it’s love.
To be clear, I’m not advocating that we pick up truth and run wild with it, using it like a sword to slash everyone around us. I’m not saying we should use the truth to start pointing out the sin in everyone else’s life. There is no place for that in love either. Speaking the truth without love is judgement.
And judgement belongs to God alone.
But I am saying that we need to embrace the absolute truth of God’s Word and make it a firm foundation for our own love for others; we must embrace truth and purify the love that we offer the world.
Instead of subjecting truth to make it what we want it to be, we must submit to absolute truth.
Instead of justifying our behaviors, we must yield to the correction of the Father.
Instead of pointing out the sin in others, we must simply point them to the truth.
We must wrap the truth up in love, wind them tightly together, until they can’t be separated. That’s the gift of love that the world needs.
What does living in truth and love look like? Let’s make it really practical.
If you want to be a vessel of change in the world and cultivate the kind of love that will make a difference, begin with your household. Start doing these 4 things and you will see a difference in the love that overflows:
1. Take in more Truth. This is the most important thing you can do! Read the Word daily and share it with your family. Speak the truth to your loved ones. Pray the Word over your loved ones. Make truth a part of your language and lifestyle. The truth you read WILL change your heart and mind and actions. The bible tells us that God’s Word always produces fruit (Isaiah 55:11).
2. Turn off the lies. Be intentional to take in more truth than you take in lies. To do this, you must stop consuming garbage! Shut off violent and sinful tv shows, movies, video games and social media. They are toxic and do nothing but normalize sin. The bible makes it clear that If you love the pleasures of this world more than you love the truth, you are headed for disaster (1 John 1:15-17).
3. Commit to living righteously. Follow the Bible’s instructions on a daily basis. Submit to the correction of the Holy Spirit. Do the right thing, even when no one is looking. Be intentional with your time and actions. Act with integrity. The bible explains that all who continue to sin are not children of God (1 John 3:7-10).
4. Treat others like Jesus did. Serve and give sacrificially to those around you: see the marginalized, help the poor, serve those around you, give to those less fortunate. Before he died, Jesus commanded us to love like he did (John 13:14-17, 35-35).
Friends, love isn’t enough. But love rooted in truth is. The change starts so small, in our own homes, by embracing this claim:
There is absolute truth and his name is Jesus.
He is love and he is truth. This mindset will cultivate change because we will be changed, and the love that we offer the world will be changed. And that kind of love is world-changing love.
I John 3:18: “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.”
2 John 1:3: “Grace, mercy and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ – the Son of the Father – will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.”
Friends, have you thought about where you stand when it comes to truth and love? Can I encourage you to seek the truth by diving into God’s word with me? It’s worth the time and effort! As always, I love hearing your stories and love praying for you too. Comment below or message me and I will get on my knees for you. Let’s do this faith journey together.
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You nailed it Minta! Thank you.
Thank you Dianne! Been praying for you all.
Absolutely agree 100% … There are so many of us who feel the same way!! This was beautiful!! I’m with the person above, you totally nailed it, girl!! God has given you such a wonderful gift of writing & I thank you so much for sharing it all with us! I just love how God is speaking to you & that your hearing him!!
Thank you so much, friend. I appreciate the kind words so much. Thank you for reading. Blessings!
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