Truth and love are likely the most essential pair of words in our scriptures, and even better, they go hand in hand. Ephesians 4:14 refers to them in tandem - as truth IN love. I instantly had an image of a jug of cold, fresh water. When combined, both the jug and the water become so special and more than the sum of their parts.
But can’t we also say the opposite - that when separated, truth and love become LESS than their individual best? I think so.
Consider truth as water.
They were certainly woven beautifully together between metaphor and hard reality in Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. He asked her for a drink, even though he could have served himself. It was all about the conversation. They discussed the truth of her life's struggles, and of water - living water.
The very nature of water is fluid. It can be a perplexing paradox of life-giving or life-taking, depending on the circumstances. A massive waterfall can be breathtaking in both senses of the word. Truth can also have two outcomes. Real truth can set us free, but someone's immature version of the truth can be wielded as a sword that can maim and kill.
And the jug is love.
Love is truth’s container. Water NEEDS a container, or it can be lost and unusable. Think about how our culture misuses and abuses the very idea of love. It's romantic or patriotic, passionate or proud, and all too often, self-serving. But consider the humble, utilitarian JUG. So useful, so practical, yet so vital!
The Apostle Paul’s description of perfect love in Corinthians 13 is basic and useful as well: "Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for itself. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head. It doesn't force itself on others, isn't always "me first." It doesn't fly off the handle, and it doesn't keep score of the sins of others. It doesn't revel when others grovel but takes pleasure in the flowering of truth. It puts up with anything - trusts God always and always looks for the best. It never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies!"
Wow, that must be one beautiful jug, right?
Back in Ephesians, Paul combines truth and love: "Know the whole truth and tell it in love (like Christ) in everything." He uses phrases like "be mature" and "grow.” At the end of Corinthians’ love chapter he tempers truth a bit: "We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled."
Seek the truth and grow up. And love really well. Got it.
Carry the jug everywhere and keep it full. But I bet that real truth and real love cannot be separated. For me, they seem like the two boundary edges of my faith that I am constantly hitting, nudging me back towards the middle. Truth without love can be stark, lifeless and lead to idolatry. Love without truth can be shaky, shallow and self-serving. But when combined - it's life in the Lord fully realized!
About the Author
Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.
He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.