In each new season, the Lord gives me a word for the Church. I preach that word wherever I speak until the season is over. Typically, these seasonal words come from something I see in the Spirit. For the fall of 2022, I saw a large gate leading to the future. It had two pillars on each side of the gate. On one pillar were written the words, “Speaking the truth in love.” On the other pillar was written, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Only by understanding what those two phrases meant could we then walk through the gate into a future where greater measures of Kingdom effectiveness awaited our arrival.

The words “speaking the truth in love” were penned by Paul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians. In the context of those words was the definition and purpose of the five equipping gifts that were given to the Church to mature us. That maturity would bring us to a place where we “Will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:14). That is the essence of spiritual maturity – discernment. As a result of that discerning maturity we will be able to “speak the truth in love” (4:15).

Today, an assault is taking place on biblical sexual identity. Confusion, uncertainty, and mutilation is happening because the lies that have been so cleverly designed are radically changing lives.  Imagine what it is like for parents who have believed and have followed the way of truth all their lives to have a child announce they are choosing to live out one of the cleverly designed lies regarding their sexuality. Parents have been told they must embrace the child’s deception and accompanying choices, or they cannot really love the child. Parents, who after a lifetime of living faithfully to God’s word, now abandon truth in fear of losing their child. Fear never motivates wise choices. It is a lie that speaking the truth in love while still loving and embracing a child will destroy the relationship. Jesus continued to love all of us even when we were living apart from the truth. Only in such a condition can truth be fully demonstrated and the depths of love be experienced leading to redemption. 

The other pillar, “Loving your neighbor as yourself” requires that we take a deeper look at the phrase to understand all sides of its meaning. To love our neighbor as ourselves can mean that once I realize something might be harmful to my neighbor, I could never accept or go along with my neighbor’s choice to comply without deeper research. Evidence has now emerged that some of the injections we have been told we must take are having horrible side effects, even causing premature death in some cases. To say no to such an injection is an act of love. 

The gate of the future through which we are called to walk requires we ask ourselves a new set of questions, not continue to live with assumptions of the past. Are we courageous and loving enough to speak the truth in love no matter the loss or ostracization it might create? Have we done a thorough examination of all the facts that will help us love our neighbor in the best way possible, or will we allow others to tell us what that means? It will always be a challenge to take our faith outside the sanctuary and apply it to the real world where people face painful choices and consequences, but it’s how we move forward.