Good morning and welcome to those of you who are just joining our Making Space Mondays (For God, that is). Recently I had to do something that was very difficult. I had to speak the truth in order to help clarify a situation. When I began to think about what I would say, I came up with all sorts of excuses to just let it go. Why bother? God will take care of it. I thought using the opt out button was simply easier. And I imagine some of you have felt the same way at times. Maybe you feel that right now in a current situation. But I could not push the opt out. God wouldn’t let me. I knew in my heart I needed to speak up. So then I went down another bunny trail…

Hopping right down the I-will- soften-this-lane. I will say a few pertinent things, but the rest can stay under the table. Hit the easy button.  You know the saying, “Let sleeping dogs lie?” I decided to bring the sleeping dog out but wanted to be sure he did not bark.

So that didn’t work in my heart either. I sensed that the Lord wanted me to have full disclosure– to speak the truth in love. My next step was to get my heart right. I know from experience that if my heart isn’t right, then my words will not be right. I asked the Lord to work in me. And that changed everything.

Friends, we need to speak the truth but if we do so without love we are a clanging symbol. And my husband says I make enough noise, I don’t need to be a clanging cymbal too! Love covers a multitude of offenses. Love that comes from God (agape) is supernatural and comes from His heart to ours as we seek Him. Love makes our words strong and yet kind, truthful and yet not condemning. Love is the key to speaking the truth.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head; Christ (Ephesians 4:15)

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body, (Epesians 4:25)