Growth

Loving Jesus, Loving Truth

One of the best parts about teaching your kids about Jesus is that it often compels you to think more clearly about what you profess. Children don’t come programed with “Christian-ize” and so when you are tempted to use that language, their probing questions can prove clarifying – for you and them.

I was reminded of this recently when I was attempting to impress upon one of my children the importance of telling the truth. As I reiterated again that it is imperative that we are truth-tellers and that we should love the truth, I asked, as I often do, why it was important that we follow this directive. I imagine that I thought my child would answer with something along the lines of “because God tells us to” or even “because we want others to tell the truth to us.” Instead, my offspring responded with “I don’t know.” They were able to dutifully recite the need for truth telling, but could not figure out why Mom was so insistent on this instruction.

As I sought to explain it to my kid, I considered the explanations noted above. Obviously, it is important to tell the truth because God tells us to do so. It is also important to tell the truth because that it is how we would want others to treat us, and this too, follows God’s commands (see Luke 6:31). But as I mentally went through these explanations, I realized that there was one more reason that I should desire to be known as a truth-teller. If I love the truth, I will tell the truth. And if I love Jesus, I should love the truth. After all, it was Jesus who declared that not only was He was the way of salvation and that life is found in Him, He also said that He is the truth (John 14:6). Loving the truth and loving Him are synonymous. He is truly true – all truth is found in Him and in Him there is no “shadow of turning” (James 1:17). As one who desires to love Him well and represent Him to a loss and hurting world, the same should be increasingly characteristic of me.

Professing this reality made it clear to me that loving the truth is more than just truth telling. Of course, not lying is an important component of this commitment and keeping it helps show my love for Jesus. But loving truth means that I should I seek to avoid false flattery – even when doing so might be considered the “polite” or “strategic” thing to do. It should mean that I am true in my actions – that I do things because of a desire to serve God and not to make myself look good. It means that I understand that “true love” is not a feeling – but a commitment to put others before myself because I truly recognize that they are creations of God, beloved by Him and bearing His image. My love for Jesus means that I should love truth – in word, deed, and spirit – because that is how I am called to show my love for Him.

The challenge with this way of thinking is that someone could read this and think, “well that means if I don’t feel loving towards someone else, I shouldn’t be kind to them because that wouldn’t be true.” Please do not think this! First, as mentioned above, love is a commitment not a feeling. Secondly, this recognition should prompt our hearts to align with Jesus’; not to use the divergence between His character and ours as an excuse to not do what He says. In other words – if you don’t have love in your heart for someone else that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t serve them. It means that you should grow in your love for them and seek to do good to them.

God was gracious to use what I thought was a teaching moment in my kid’s life to grow my understanding of what it means to love and serve Him. Now when my children and I have discussions about truth-telling, we say “Loving Jesus means loving the truth.” My prayer is that their lives, and mine, will increasingly reflect this recognition. 

Continue Reading

Growth Purpose

The Purpose of Practice

It is common knowledge that the role of educators has changed over the years. One of the most profound changes is that students expect that their education will be easy, rather than challenging. There is probably a myriad of social and cultural reasons for this, many of which I am ill equipped to address. However, in my own small sphere of influence I work to buck this trend and tell my students from the outset that they can expect to work hard in my class. As I remind them, no athlete should enter a competition without extensive practice, and if they do, they should expect that victory will go to their opposition. My classroom is their practice field. When they enter the world of business, I want them to be well equipped for success, prepared for the obstacles and challenges that they will face.

The same idea applies to the practice of Christian disciplines. Many people struggle with prayer time and Bible study, especially if things are going well. They don’t feel the “need” to immerse themselves with the things of God, so they are quick to neglect them. However, one of the purposes of these regular practices is to make sure that they are in place before the crisis strikes. If they are, we will be more likely to continue them during the difficult days – those seasons where our need for them is more pronounced and more greatly felt.

What is true for our “individual” spiritual disciplines, is also true for our commitment to corporate worship.  Many people realize there need for a Christian community when they are going through difficult times. However, it is those who have regularly participated in Christian fellowship who immediately have the family of God surrounding them when tragedy strikes. They have already made the investment in others’ lives and have experienced the blessing of knowing and serving the body of believers. Because of this, their burden is immediately lessened as they have others who are bearing it along with them.

What does this mean for us? If our commitment to spiritual practices has faltered, recognizing that there is a long-term value to them may spark our commitment to reengage and daily commit to prayer, Bible study, and participation in our local church. If we have maintained these disciplines, may we be encouraged to continue in them knowing that having these practices in place will make it easier to maintain these commitments when we face difficult days. And it is in those days that the blessings of these disciplines may be most fully realized in our lives.

Continue Reading