And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. Psalm 12:6.

Do you ever suffer from miscommunication? Do you suffer when someone tries to cover it up? That’s what happened in our chapter, 1 Chronicles 19. A king dies. Another king, David, sends a delegation to express sympathy and that message is lost. How? Because commanders to the king convince the king that there is peril from that delegation and that their motives are wrong. Does that sound familiar today in our world or even in our lives? We think we know what someone is thinking and so we act upon those assumptions. Are there cover-ups in this world? In our lives? In the fog of suspicion it’s hard to see light of truth. What I find difficult in this chapter is why didn’t that king just send the delegation away? So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away. v. 4. What an awful thing to do. And the result? War. Thousands died. The king and his people became subject to David. What a cost!

I keep thinking about us living today and how easy it is to be misled. Increasingly today we walk a balancing act of trying to make sense of decisions others make. What is truth?

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32.

God’s love is the teaching we need to hold onto. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” John 8:25-26. “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.” John 8:38.

The father Jesus was referring to that they were obeying was not our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit.

Can we see that the anger, the hate, the violence we know in this world and in ourselves is not from our Father? Why did that delegation speak lies? “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44.

The problem with lies is that we can’t always discern that they are lies or what is truth. We can, however, cling to what we know. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:16-18.

The people in our chapter knew fear because of lies and the cover-up of lies. God’s love does not bring fear. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11. I have faith in God. I know His Word is true and is life. Like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times…God’s love is our life and our hope and our truth and so very beautiful! That truth will stand for eternity. Thank You, Lord, for so great a Love.