"Love... rejoices with the truth."
--1 Corinthians
That one line is such a profound little statement, I don't think I fully realized its brevity and beauty until this past week. I was sitting out at camp, only feet away from a gorgeous lake, and I decided to re-read 1 Corinthians 13: the love chapter. It's such a well known text, people like to stick it on the backs of postcards, coffee mugs and magnets without even giving it a second look. While the entire chapter really is incredible, it was that one verse that stuck out to me the most.
The Lord's been teaching me a lot about honesty lately. There's something so simply beautiful about telling the truth. Some times, it doesn't have to come in any cardboard, gift wrapped packages with elegant, fancy bows; just the bare truth is enough, lying out in the open where it can be stepped on.
But where it can also be seen.
I think a lot of the times, we like to tell the truth to gain something for ourselves - to get something in return from a certain person, or to get a specific response out of them. And sometimes, we very well need to receive something from the whole ordeal. But there are other times when the truth just needs to be told.
I recently was confronted with either keeping the truth inside, pressing it deep down where others can't really see it, but where it festers and cracks and rots underneath the surface, or telling the truth just to tell the truth. It wasn't a very pretty truth, and it was painful for me to say it to one of my dear friends. But there's something so incredibly freeing about getting it off your chest, even if it leaves you completely vulnerable. And even if I can't look back and pinpoint a specific advantage or goal or prize I received from it, I can at least look back and know that I told the truth.
Sometimes, that's enough.
Beyond that, as the verse above states, as Christians, we're told that love rejoices in the truth. No matter how ugly, no matter how painful, no matter how hard it is to get off your chest, a real, deep and raw love is one that sees the truth for what it really is and doesn't shy away from it. Rather, it rejoices in its very nature, knowing that God himself is Truth. It goes against our nature to celebrate something that can be so unbearable and challenging, as it's so much easier to slip inside our shells and keep our issues to ourselves. It can be a truly terrifying thing, but it's also completely humbling, as we have to stop thinking about ourselves and what we want to get out of the situation. Instead, we have to come to terms with the fact that we may not get a pat on the back or a thumbs-up for being brave and telling the truth. Our feelings might get hurt, our hearts could get trampled on, and people may judge us. But in the end, we can still always rejoice, knowing that we demonstrated a real, agape kind of love in telling the truth.
We don't often think about this kind of love while reading 1 Corinthians 13. We like to write it in the middle of a beautiful painting of a garden, surrounded by birds and quiet scenery. But love isn't always smooth, it doesn't always flow peacefully like a river. And when it does get rough, we like to pout and slam doors and clench our fists.
But if the truth is based on Christ*, then it's going to be beautiful no matter how painful it is; it will flourish like a house built on the Rock. This itself is a hard truth to accept, but it's worth it to know and accept and preach to ourselves daily.
Love rejoices with the truth. Yes, let us preach that to ourselves daily, so we always remember the healing power of not only the truth, but of the one and only Truth.
*Emphasis on the "based on Christ" part of the sentence. I'm not advocating for everyone to go around and just speak their mind. Caution, discernment and prayer must be exercised in telling the truth.
