What Does Love Do With What I Know About Another Person?
Gossip is about far more than words. It touches how we see one another, how we love one another, and how the world sees Jesus through us. In these three blogs, we'll look at what Love does when another person's story finds its way into our hands.
The Last Apologetic
When Our Love Makes Jesus Visible
"I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me." John 17:23
The Prayer Of Jesus
Shortly before the cross, Jesus prayed for us, and one of the deepest desires of His heart was that we would experience the shared life and love He has always known with His Father: “I in them and You in Me.”
Then Jesus connects that union with something extraordinary. Our love for one another would help the world recognize Him and discover that the Father loves them with the very love He has for His Son.
Maybe our greatest apologetic has always been Love.
What The World Sees
That makes the way we speak about one another much more important than simply avoiding gossip.
When we diminish someone, pass along a damaging story, or find ourselves drawn into another person's failure, we miss an opportunity to reveal the Love Jesus prayed would become visible among us.
Imagine instead a family where people protect one another's dignity, speak life when someone isn't in the room, and refuse to let another person's weakness become entertainment.
The world might begin seeing something it doesn't see very often—the love of Jesus becoming visible in the way we love one another.
A Question Before We Speak
Our unity doesn't require us to agree about everything or pretend problems don't exist.
Love can tell the truth, address something privately, establish healthy boundaries, and still refuse to diminish another person's value.
Maybe there is one question worth asking before we speak:
What does Love do with what I know about this person?
Jesus prayed that the love shared between Father and Son would become visible in us.
Every conversation gives that Love another opportunity to be seen, especially when the person we're talking about isn't in the room.
Maybe one of the clearest ways the world will recognize Jesus isn't simply by what we say about Him, but by the way we love the people He loves.
Reflection
What do my conversations reveal about Jesus?
Do I protect another person's dignity when they aren't present?
How might my words help someone recognize the Father's heart?
Prayer
Abba Father, let the love You share with Jesus become visible in the way I see, speak about, and love others. Amen.