my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
—Psalm 32:3-5
Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
—Psalm 119:49-50
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ
—Ephesians 4:15
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
—1 John 1:9
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
—1 John 3:1
In October of 2012 a Taliban militant boarded a bus in Pakistan and shot three girls before fleeing. Eyewitness accounts, including those from two of the shooting victims, left no doubt that the would-be assassin had come to kill the third girl, fifteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai. She had been targeted for speaking out in defense of the right of girls to go to school, and for writing truthfully about the impact of Taliban rule on her country. While still in a coma she was transported to a hospital in England that specializes in treatment of combat injuries. Amazingly, she regained consciousness after six days, and was discharged to rehabilitation after an additional two-and-a-half months. She wrote an international best-selling account of her life in that year (2013) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Malala has been widely recognized as a courageous example of "speaking truth to power". That phrase is often used when describing the actions of a person who says and does what is right despite opposition from those with the power to do them harm, especially in the case of corruption or injustice. Although the phrase may be recent in history, the practice is ancient, and Biblical.
Nathan, Jeremiah, and the unnamed prophet who cried out against the altar on which Jeroboam made offerings are only two of many examples of prophets who spoke truth to power in ancient Israel. John the Baptist spoke truth to power and paid for it with his life. And the book of Acts contains several examples of courageous disciples who spoke truth to power.
Jesus, in his confrontations with the corrupt leadership of Israel, also spoke truth to power. He also spoke truth to power when rebuking the devil. But there's a difference. The opponents of Jesus—both political and spiritual—had no idea that their power was no match for His. And the cross on which they thought they had defeated Him led to the greatest demonstration of His power and their defeat.
Given the tendency of human authorities toward quick and harsh judgment, perhaps it is not surprising that there is also a human tendency to conceal flaws and mistakes. And anyone who has ever had a sincere apology rejected can sympathize a little with the person who is afraid to admit failure. But in this, as in everything else, the Lord completely overturns the flawed expectations of the world.
When we come to Him in humble acknowledgement of our flaws and failures, we are not telling Him anything that He does not already know. We are facing the truth ourselves. More importantly, we are not "speaking truth to power", but instead are "speaking truth to love". We are confessing our defects and needs to the one who loved us more than we can imagine. We are coming in the name of the one who loved us so much that He took on the power of evil. And defeated it.
He gives power to overcome the world to those who will speak the truth to love.
Speaking Truth to Love
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
—Psalm 32:3-5
Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
—Psalm 119:49-50
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ
—Ephesians 4:15
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
—1 John 1:9
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
—1 John 3:1
In October of 2012 a Taliban militant boarded a bus in Pakistan and shot three girls before fleeing. Eyewitness accounts, including those from two of the shooting victims, left no doubt that the would-be assassin had come to kill the third girl, fifteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai. She had been targeted for speaking out in defense of the right of girls to go to school, and for writing truthfully about the impact of Taliban rule on her country. While still in a coma she was transported to a hospital in England that specializes in treatment of combat injuries. Amazingly, she regained consciousness after six days, and was discharged to rehabilitation after an additional two-and-a-half months. She wrote an international best-selling account of her life in that year (2013) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Malala has been widely recognized as a courageous example of "speaking truth to power". That phrase is often used when describing the actions of a person who says and does what is right despite opposition from those with the power to do them harm, especially in the case of corruption or injustice. Although the phrase may be recent in history, the practice is ancient, and Biblical.
Nathan, Jeremiah, and the unnamed prophet who cried out against the altar on which Jeroboam made offerings are only two of many examples of prophets who spoke truth to power in ancient Israel. John the Baptist spoke truth to power and paid for it with his life. And the book of Acts contains several examples of courageous disciples who spoke truth to power.
Jesus, in his confrontations with the corrupt leadership of Israel, also spoke truth to power. He also spoke truth to power when rebuking the devil. But there's a difference. The opponents of Jesus—both political and spiritual—had no idea that their power was no match for His. And the cross on which they thought they had defeated Him led to the greatest demonstration of His power and their defeat.
Given the tendency of human authorities toward quick and harsh judgment, perhaps it is not surprising that there is also a human tendency to conceal flaws and mistakes. And anyone who has ever had a sincere apology rejected can sympathize a little with the person who is afraid to admit failure. But in this, as in everything else, the Lord completely overturns the flawed expectations of the world.
When we come to Him in humble acknowledgement of our flaws and failures, we are not telling Him anything that He does not already know. We are facing the truth ourselves. More importantly, we are not "speaking truth to power", but instead are "speaking truth to love". We are confessing our defects and needs to the one who loved us more than we can imagine. We are coming in the name of the one who loved us so much that He took on the power of evil. And defeated it.
He gives power to overcome the world to those who will speak the truth to love.
God is love.