How often when you talk to people do you hold back stating what you know is right or wrong?
We will run from truth because we try to live in the mode of self-preservation. The great thing about being a Christian is that we do not have to present our thinking to people. God has provided us with a guide to speak the truth. All we have to do is study it and present it as God's Word. If people become offended, have we done the offending?
The only thing that we need to be careful of is the condition of our heart when we share the truth. Since we are sinners, our heart motivation needs to always be kept in check. We may want to share in order to gloat or even to humiliate. The focus of our heart should be to share the good news of Jesus and to encourage them in their walk.
There may come a time when we are persecuted for sharing about God and offending people with the truth. Isn't now the best time to prepare? One of the only things we will face at this time (in the US) is to suffer from rejection due to an unpopular position. Prepare your heart now because if you have a hard time standing up to rejection, there are harder times coming.
Even Peter said he would not betray God and he did. The great thing about Peter is that he was held tightly in His hand his sins were covered.
God loves us just as much and will cover all our failures. We however need to work to stengthen our faith and walk with God so that we can stand up under the circumstances that come our way.
Don't you want your life to always point back to God?
Speaking the truth in love comes to mind when reading this post. Our words should be tethered to the mercy and grace God has so often shown us. I fail at this often. However, you are right, the mercy we show should not sacrifice the truth of God.
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