The Truth vs God's Love

Hello everyone, this is a continuation from my last word, "Jesus Attracts & Repels".

In verse 27, Jesus told the crowd the truth, "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you. Did you catch that? He will give you the food that endures even beyond this life. But we must first believe and then follow him with clean hands and sincere hearts.

Here's another observation from this chapter. The truth and God's love are not two separate things. Instead, they go hand in hand at all times; his identity is the truth. Additionally, I realised that God's expression of love is always reflected in speaking the Truth to those around him. It simply was not optional. Case in point, Jesus wasted no time telling the people who followed him to Capernaum the truth about why they followed him. He didn't sleep on it for a day or two, nor ignore their actions. He called them out to their faces and showed the deceitful state of their hearts. They were only there out of greed and to receive their next meal rather than out of loyalty and belief. Jesus was not having it; He was honest with them! Sometimes, we can misunderstand and misrepresent God's love. We might believe that if we hold back our feelings and do not speak up to others when they're doing wrong, especially in instances when negative behaviors such as but are not limited to lies, deceitfulness, disingenuousness, and malicious ways, then we're peacemakers. No! Let me assure you, this is not making peace; this is people-pleasing. God calls us to be imitators of Christ & he says this is how we ought to walk in love, Eph 5:1: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children". This doesn't mean playing along or quietly observing from the side, causing them to think their behavior is acceptable. Rather, we should speak the truth in love and ensure we're not playing into the deceitful schemes and cunning ways of others. We should not allow ourselves to become victims of such behaviors, but instead, call these things out and set a standard of Christ in our daily lives. This is truly how God calls us to love. Hence, some of us, including me, need to practice mirroring Christ's love in ways that reflect his word and not from our old understanding. 

Question: How do you know when a person is loyal? Or how can we know when a person has our best interest at heart?.

Answer: We should use the same tried-and-true method that Jesus did. He told them all the truth. How a person responds (especially in the aftermath) will provide the answers. They will either be more open and loyal or removed. What then? Whether by attraction or repulsion, Christ is proclaimed, and in that, we rejoice. 

I will continue uncovering God's love in my next few posts because there's so much to unpack in the lesson. Until next time, friends. 

PRAYER: father give me your discernment and wisdom to know what to attract in my life, Father if I' attracted anything being negative habits, disobedience or unfruitful ways or people who are not in alignment with your will for my life..from this moment, let those people and things repel from my life. Cut and clear the way of your path of righteousness and holiness in my life. Let me work and serve you with Holy fear and not for what you can do for me or how many blessings I'll receive for following after you. Father, I receive you now, as you are the BREAD OF LIFE AND according to your word in John 6: 56 "whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him"  Amen.