1 Corinthians 13.4-7
“Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
Another key message in 1 Corinthians 13 is that love has an unwavering commitment to truth. I have written about this multiple times over the years, and because of its importance, it warrants repeating whenever scripture leads us there.
Here is what I wrote just a few weeks ago on March 23 …
The Christian life is lived at the intersection of truth + love, where truth defines and directs love, and where love is motivated and directed by truth. The strategy of the kingdom of God is not striking the balance between truth and love; rather, it is the powerful combination of these two virtues lived out day-to-day in response to the realities of life.
That is our calling. That is how we fight the good fight. That is what it means to be an agent of the kingdom of God in the midst of a watching world. We must never lose sight of the reality that truth without love is not God’s strategy. Nor is love without truth. Consider what happens when Christians in a company or team or family bring this powerful combination of truth + love to bear every day.
“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3.3-4)
This passage from Proverbs 3 tells us to hold fast to “love and faithfulness.” The word for love is the Hebrew hesed, which we know from our studies means sacrificial love. It is an uncommon commitment to serving others. The word for “faithfulness” is the Hebrew emet, which means truth … and more specifically, faithfulness to the truth.
Note the Proverbs passage gives us two wonderful metaphors for how to make love and truth a constant part of the way we operate our lives:
First, bind them around your neck. Wear love and truth like a necklace or scarf. The picture that Solomon paints is a person getting dressed in preparation for the day. In the same way that you choose the clothes that you will wear every day, so should you choose the virtues that you will “wear.” Make love and truth a part of your daily attire.
Second, write them on the tablet of your heart. This is the daily act of intentionally inscribing the virtues of love and truth in your innermost being. You are the author of your character. You are the person who decides if love and truth are engraved and inscribed on your heart.
The benefit you receive is “favor and good success in the sight of God and man.” When you live a life of love and truth, God will bless you and people will trust you.
