Love | Rejoices in Truth

The way that we love others matters. This goes for every relationship we have with another person. Think about the times you have felt well loved by someone. What did it look like? What did it look when someone didn’t love you as well as they should?

Thankfully, 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a perfect roadmap of how the way we love should look. Verse 6 says “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” There are two aspects of love on display here: a repulsion of evil and a devotion to truth.

In order for us to pursue godly love in all of our relationships, we have to keep these two ideas close.

What does it look like for us to rejoice in truth out of love?

It looks like us knowing what God says about His children. When we know who we are and who others are in Him, we are able to love first. We can view others through the lens of love and see them for who God created them to be.

What would happen if we sought to see everyone we encounter this way, even people that aren’t inside our inner circles? We might extend more grace when people make mistakes that frustrate us. We might go out of our way to be kind to those we are not obligated. In every relational situation, we can rejoice in the truth of people’s identities as children of God and treat them as the royalty they are.

Jesus told us He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. When we know Jesus, we know what truth is. We know the promise and the victory we have because of Jesus.

Rejoicing in truth through love looks like persevering with one another when things become difficult. When storms come, it is our place as friends, family members, and spouses to be a mouthpiece for truth in difficult seasons, encouraging our people to a point of joyful hope in the goodness of God. Likewise, we get to witness our loved ones continually stepping more into the truth of who God created them to be and what He has for them, and it is our privilege to celebrate them with every small step and massive breakthrough.

The second part of this concept is the rejection of evil things. This means when bad things happen to other people, we feel sorrow for those things. When tragedy strikes those with whom we have relationship, we empathize and hurt for the injustice inflicted upon our people. When those we love are trapped in sin struggles, we do not encourage them in that path but rather encourage them out of it and into truth.

Perhaps most difficult is for us to not delight in the evils done to those that have wronged us in the past. Operating in love means to reject the satisfaction that situation might bring us and instead, rejoice in the truth of that person’s identity as a child of God. To not delight in evil means to alternatively delight in the truth of God’s affection towards His people.

The Father said that the greatest everlasting thing that we have is love. If love is our most powerful tool, we must approach every relationship with a desire to see the truth of the glory of God housed inside the people we interact with. Beyond that, we seek to celebrate it.

Love looks like rejoicing in sonship, breakthrough, and victory -- truths that we know we have because of who God is.

Prayer

Lord, I pray that in every relationship I have, you would give me your eyes to see the truth of who people are and who you are towards them. Help me to rejoice and celebrate their life and every good thing they step into. Give me the courage and bravery to stand up in love against the evils that may come their way and to hold fast to the truth and hope of your victory in difficult seasons. Help me to love better and to love first. Amen.
 
Author | Kalli Drake