Being a part of the Christian subculture, the term Truth in Love is nothing new. I think my knee-jerk assumption is that it’s a free pass to tell people things they don’t want to hear, but in a nice way. But what if there is a broader way that the Church, God’s people, brings truth to our community? Truth - honest reflections of where evil, brokenness, and selfishness ravish God’s good creation - are spoken not in judgment and shame inducing “other-izing,” but with invitational love.
I was caught up in a rabbit trail this morning (as I often am), learning about the 1919 Elaine Massacre. I had never heard of this mass destruction of black bodies in rural Arkansas that took place over 100 years ago. A post on social media shared at the right time of day was all I needed to send me into investigation mode to learn what they were talking about. One thing led to another …you know the drill. I invite you to explore that Wikipedia rabbit trail on your own time.
With Truth in Love on my mind, I was very interested to learn about the memorial for this tragic event that was actually built pretty recently. The website of the Elaine Massacre Memorial leads with a quote from author James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Now regardless of your familiarity with or opinions about James Baldwin, this quote took me right back to scripture’s usage of light and dark. The way of bringing the gross, dark, shame-filled things to the light and exposing that which was hidden, brings the opportunity for healing.
In Ephesians 5, Paul is talking about “walking in love,” rather than how we used to walk, and “walking as children of light,” rather than in the darkness we once walked. He then builds the case for how to walk in this new way in verse 13: “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”
Exposure to the light! The light of truth exposes these horrible sins and only then do we have a chance to mourn, repent, reconcile, and heal. The way of love leads us to the light.
I know my gut reaction to my embarrassing behavior is to hide it. I saw it in my children when they were toddlers because it is what’s natural to us. I know I do it now in my 30s. When I trip, I look around to make sure no one sees it. When I fail, I hope no one will know it was me. On a larger scale, we as a nation attempt to bury our hate-filled histories like that of the Elaine Massacre and The Red Summer of 1919…not to mention the hate-filled racial history here in Eugene, from the burning crosses on Skinner’s Butte to the segregated Ferry Street Community across the Willamette. (Consider a walking tour of Eugene’s black history https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/take-a-walking-tour-of-eugenes-black-history/)
It wasn’t until 2019 that the 1919 tragedy was formally memorialized. Before the concrete memorial was built, a willow tree was planted on site, which only months later was cut down and the memorial tag stolen. People kept trying to keep this story hidden. But this hiding is not the way of Jesus, not the way of truth in love, and not the way of healing and wholeness.
When the truth is exposed to the light we can see it, address it, and repent from it. This is why Auschwitz and other internment camps are available for tours to this day. And this exposure of evil to the light was the invitation from the prophets to Judah, Israel, and the surrounding nations. This is the invitation to healing today. Without bringing these histories to the light there can be no healing.
The light is God’s light. If it were not, then the light would be dangerous. But this light is the light that can handle the truth with love.
Pray with me:
Psalm 139
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
About the Author
Mike is CitySalt's Lead Pastor. Mike is married to Britni and together they have two awesome elementary school-aged children. He loves working in his garden and connecting with people over coffee. One of his greatest joys in pastoring is helping others discover the fullness that God has for them through His Scriptures and His Spirit.