Think for a moment about the people you’ve known that have made a positive difference in your life. Leaving a legacy of helping others and making a difference is something we can all do.

The first four verses of I John, which serve as a preface to the letter, represent a grammatical knot.

Too often, we end up saying “if only I had known then what I know now.” Since there’s no way to go back and relive our lives, we need to focus on the best way to respond to these painful memories. Otherwise, we will live under clouds of blame and shame and be paralyzed by fear.

Many of us have the right motives, but we just don’t know how to reprove one another the way God intended. In this message, let’s seek to understand the value and process of speaking the truth in love so we might gain—and share, especially with our children—the helpful insight that can remove blind spots and bring about needed change.