Truth and Love

2 John 1:3 NLT Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

Any good recipe begins with a thorough combination of ingredients where flavors are in perfect balance. The two primary ingredients of a cake are flour and sugar; separately, they are not very satisfying, but when properly mixed, they become something delicious. This is exactly what John was speaking of when he encouraged fellow Christ-believers to live a life of truth and love.

In John’s letters to a group of fellow Christ-followers (John 1-2-3), he writes multiple times that love plus truth produces a place where grace, mercy, and peace abound. John 1:17 describes Jesus as the perfect combination of God’s grace, His unfailing love, and truth. We are in error when we focus entirely on either truth or love. The two must go hand in hand. There is a constant danger of becoming so intense in our pursuit of truth that we fail to love or are so focused on love that we ignore truth. Truth without love can be legalistic, just as love without truth is like a road with no guardrails or ditches.

Our culture has given truth a false connotation of obligation, sacrifice, or forced obedience. Yet Jesus said, “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Jesus also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). There is no such thing as ‘my truth or your truth’, there is only the truth. Just as love is not feelings or emotions, Truth is not an abstract concept but they are together the person of Jesus. There is only one way to God the Father and only one way to lead others to Him and into freedom, through love and truth.

If there was any truth to the popular notion that love is “whatever feels good,” then truth would never be welcome. But living a life of love and truth of God’s word is not optional for a true Christ-follower. Genuine love never disregards the truth.  The often-quoted 1 Corinthians 13:1 tells us a life without love reduces us to “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal,” and John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in truth” (3 John 4). These are the ingredients of a spirit-led Christian life.

How do we strike this seemingly impossible balance to walk in God’s truth while staying rooted in love? True love aligns with God’s Word and recognizes that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Love and truth are inseparable. Love is defined not by feelings or emotions but by actions. 2 John 1:6 states, “This is love, that we walk in obedience to what God has commanded us.”  If we see God’s truth only as a list of do’s and don’ts, then we are missing the greater purpose. God’s Word and His commandments are an expression of His love, a revealing of His heart toward us. Living a life focused on God’s Word, His truth, will always result in experiencing God’s full love and expressing a genuine love for others.

“But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5). The litmus test of a life fully given to the Lord is the powerful combination of truth and love, a true recipe for a life filled with grace, mercy, and peace. If we choose to abide in God’s truth and love wholeheartedly, we will experience the fullness of life and satisfaction unknown to the world. We will experience the abundant life only those who abide in Jesus can obtain. Father, today we choose to walk in your truth and love.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Proverbs 3:3 TPT Hold on to loyal love and don’t let go, and be faithful to all that you’ve been taught. Let your life be shaped by integrity, with truth written upon your heart.

1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1 John 3:18 NIV Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

2 John 1:3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

3 John 1:3-4 TPT It is the greatest joy of my life to hear that my children are consistently living their lives in the ways of truth! I was filled with joy and delight when the brothers arrived and informed me of your faithfulness to the truth. They told me how you live continually in the truth of Christ. 

1 John 4:7-10 NLT Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 Timothy 1:14 NLT Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord is! He filled me with the faith and love that comes from Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:9-10 NIV Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

James 2:14-17 NLT What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, goodbye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

1 Peter 1:21-22 NLT Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

Mark 10:45 NLT For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Galatians 6:1-2 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Galatians 5:13-14 NLT For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself.