If you are a Christian, you are part of a larger body of Christ, and He is our head.  What does the head do?  Of course, we all know that is where the brain is that directs the rest of the body.  Has your brain ever told you to do something and you just said, “No, I don’t want to do it that way.”  Normally, our brain instructs us to do things automatically.  It tells the heart to beat, the blood to flow, the body to move.  Then, there are the decisions that we have to make, decisions like whether to read a certain book, go to church or watch a TV show.  This also involves the brain, and these are decisions that we make with the power called reasoning.  Who gave us the ability to reason and make choices?  God did!  That is one of the things that distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom.  We can make choices, and one of the most important ones we make is to serve the Lord and believe that Jesus is our Savior.  Moving on from the brain is the rest of the body. I don’t know exactly what part I am in His body, but I do know that I am His servant and I want to do things that please Him.  

One of the things that pleases Him is to “speak the truth in love” to other members of the body.  There is not enough of this whole telling the truth these days.  But when we do speak the truth, we are to speak it knowing that it may affect the other person, so we should only tell them the truth in love.  I’m not talking about telling someone that a dress looks awful on them.  I’m talking about speaking the spiritual truth to others.  For example, say there is someone in your church body who is gay.  You don’t kick them out of the church because of their beliefs.  You love them, accept them and once you have established a relationship, then and only then, as the Lord leads, you can tell them what the Word says about homosexuality.  It is not up to us to stand on the street corners and tell every gay person that we see that they will go to hell.  God is the final judge, remember?  And although our theology may tell us that what they are doing is sin, God’s Spirit needs to convict them before they can hear the truth, and we need to realize that they are not likely to listen to someone with whom they have not formed a relationship.  When I tell my feet to move, they do, trusting that what I am telling them to do won’t hurt them.  When I yell at someone that they are hell-bound, there is nothing loving in that statement, even though I could truly believe that what I am saying is the truth.  There are two problems with that scenario:  the first one is that these people whom you are condemning are not part of the body of Christ that you know of, and the second one is that this is not telling them the truth in love and what you are saying is not your responsibility.    How many times have Christians turned off others to even listening to the good news about Christ because we have first condemned and then expected others to listen to the truth of His love?  The good news about His love is it’s free and for everyone and He wants us to love first, foremost and always.  Are there people living in sin?  Yes, but God has not appointed me (or you) as His Holy Spirit to go around telling people all about their sinful lifestyle.  He has told me to love, speak the truth in love, and let Him take care of the conviction of sin thing.  If He wants me to address the sin in others with whom I have developed a relationship, He tells me.  I pray about it a lot and then I go and tell, speaking the truth in the way and timing that God tells me.  That is not to say that there are not some whom God has called to preach the “fire and brimstone” that the world needs.  Paul was one such preacher and so was Jonathan Edwards.  But I listen for God’s voice daily, and He has not called me personally to convict the world of sin.  He keeps telling me to love, and He will take care of the rest.  Sometimes, I get really anxious about all the sin that I see and I want to go up to people and just tell them that what they are doing is taking them on the pathway to hell and eternal destruction, not to mention heartache here in this life.  But I can’t do that without God’s leading.  I have to keep reminding myself that Jesus is the brain of this body, that He is directing my actions and should be directing the words that I speak and to whom I speak them.  If I am doing what God tells me to do and when He tells me to do it, then I will grow and so will other members of the body.  We will be healthy together.  

I hope that you are part of a body of Christ, with people who love you enough to pull you back into the fold when you step out of line and sin.  I hope you realize that you are part of a worldwide Body of Christ and that you are only a small part of it.  God is a God of truth and love, and He is training me to speak the truth in love.  I hope that these words in my blog have not offended you; my purpose was to encourage you to speak the truth in a loving way to those with whom you have relationships.  God has not called me to do anything except tell the truth to others and love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.  God bless you for reading my rambling today!