Love. Know. Speak. Do.
Have you ever witnessed the sin, weakness, foolishness, or failure of another brother or sister in Christ? Are you near someone within the body of Christ who is experiencing suffering?
If you have any relationship with fellow believers, the answer will be yes!
Remember the theme of this recent string of Wednesday devotionals: the central mission of God’s kingdom on earth is spiritual life transformation, and God chooses to use people, who are themselves in need of transformation, as instruments of the same transformation in the lives of others.
So, whether a brother or sister is exposed in their sin, or a struggling friend comes to you in humble transparency for help, or you recognize the suffering of a fellow believer and their need for comfort, your goal should be that God would use you to produce a harvest of good fruit in that relationship.
For the next several months, we will examine four essential elements of ministry relationships and biblical discipleship. They can be summarized in four words: Love. Know. Speak. Do.
These four words do not represent a four-step process. They are not four phases of a discipleship relationship, as if you start at the first (Love) and push people through until the last (Do).
Although there is some logic to the order, you will do all these elements simultaneously as you seek to be the Lord’s ambassador and function as God’s instrument of change in another person’s life.
Each week, we will examine an aspect of each of these words, so to start, I want to summarize each element very briefly:
Love highlights the importance of relationships in the process of change. Theologians call this a covenantal model of change. God comes and makes a covenant with us. He commits himself to being our God, and he takes us as his people.
In the same way, we are called to build strong relationships with others. God’s purpose is that these relationships would be workrooms where his work of change can thrive.
Know means knowing their heart. We tend to think we know people because we know facts about them, but we don’t truly know them. When you don’t know someone at the heart level, you won’t be able to ask the transformative questions.
Hebrews 4:14–16 teaches that Christ entered our world so that we could know that he understands our struggle. The goal in ministry relationships and biblical discipleship is to know other believers so that they, in turn, can know themselves and desire the deeper heart transformation that is God’s goal.
Speak involves bringing God’s truth. It doesn’t mean making grand pronouncements, but rather, helping others see themselves accurately in the mirror of God’s Word. “What does God want this person to see that they don’t see? How can I help them see it?”
The Gospels are full of brilliant examples of how Christ helped people see the truth. Through stories and questions, he broke through their spiritual blindness and helped them see who they were and the glory of what he could do for them.
Do means helping others do something with the truth has been revealed. Insight alone is not change; it must be applied to the practical, specific realities of life.
God calls his children not just to be a hearer of his Word, but to be an active doer of it as well. As Christ’s ambassador, you are called to help others respond personally to this call.
Love. Know. Speak. Do. If your eyes ever see and your ears ever hear the sin, weakness, foolishness, failure, or suffering of fellow believers, it is never a hassle, never an interruption, never an accident; it is always grace!
God loves his children and has put them in a community of faith—the Church—and he will reveal their needs to other members in the Body of Christ—you—so that you can be his ambassador of spiritual life transformation!
A Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be an ambassador for you in a way that loves others, strives to know others, speaks your truth to others in a gentle way, and moves toward others in action that reflects your kind and loving grace. Would you help me to be an accurate representation of you as someone who has personally experienced your gracious work in my life? I have been blessed by you, so please help me to be a blessing to others around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God bless,
Paul David Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children
What are some ways that we can show love toward others who are making mistakes? Why is listening to them important? What does God call us to say to them? How can we help them so they don’t make more mistakes that dishonor God in the future?
Reflection Questions
1. As you think about the people in your life with whom you have strong relationships, how have you shown them the love of God in a way that has helped them to change and move toward a life of honoring God? Who might God be calling you to build strong relationships with right now? In what ways can you love those people as you build strong relationships and be an instrument of change in their lives?
2. Why is knowing someone more than just knowing things about them? Who is God calling you to not just know, but understand at the heart level? Why is it important for someone to truthfully know themselves? How does truly knowing yourself become a catalyst for life change?
3. How can you help others see themselves accurately in the mirror of God’s Word? How can you gently reveal the blind spots in other people’s lives without being judgemental or self righteous in the process? As you think about the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), how did Jesus help people see the truth?
4. In what ways can you help others do something about the truth that has been revealed to them? What might your role be in their life as they want to move toward change? What specifics in their life do you see that need to change and how can you lovingly point out those specifics? How can you help others respond to the call to live out the Word of God?