Sometimes the TRUTH HURTS!

 

There is so much CHURCH HURT in this world. 

The church is filled with God's children who have not matured in their faith. They are growing but they have not arrived at the fullness of God living inside them. So, some of that hurt comes straight from people being people, needing GRACE & MERCY. 

I would also say some of the "church hurt" comes from people speaking the TRUTH. It was true even with JESUS. People became offended easily today just was they were in the first century.

"Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and severe famine devastated the land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner -- a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And many in Israel had leprosy in teh time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian. When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, the mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way." (Luke 4:25-30, NLT)

Jesus was speaking the truth. He knew how Israel had often rejected God and when they rejected him, in this case, God went to the gentiles, specifically Naaman. He healed him instead of healing more in Israel. This truth of this story hurt them and they were furious. They were hurt so bad they wanted to kill Jesus. They wanted to kill a man who just said he was the Messiah and then turns around and points out a failing of his people. It was not pleasant for them to hear. 

Sometimes TRUTH HURTS. But that does not mean truth is wrong. That does not mean we should be quiet about the truth. God wants us to be the bearers of truth into this world and he wants us to share it with all the grace, mercy, and love we can produce. I see many people reject the truth in order to get a convert. By the time we reach a new believer, WATERING DOWN THE GOSPEL, there is no truth left. We need to speak the truth and let God deal with the fall-out. False teaching can mean teaching the WRONG THINGS but it can also mean NOT TEACHING THE TRUTH. We need to listen to the VOICE of the HOLY SPIRIT, sharing the truth in love. 

Heavenly Father, we dearly love you. We constantly seek truth through your word, through prayer, and through worship. Please Lord give us boldness to share the truth in love. Give us the patience and love to let people know we still love them dearly even though we are called to speak the truth. Thank you Lord for your perfect grace and mercy. May we take your example and spread that same grace and mercy to others. In your Holy name, Lord Jesus, Amen!