Have you ever had to exercise discipline with someone: lay down a hard truth? They were about to go off a cliff and you could see it. I’m so inspired with the way that Jesus handled these situations - he always struck the perfect balance of truth in love. 

Do you remember his interaction with the Rich young ruler? This guy was a little proud, let’s be honest. And he asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He goes on to say that he has kept all of the commandments. With this it was like he was setting up Jesus for a volleyball spike. And perhaps a lot of us would be tempted to just set the guy straight. 

But before responding, it says in Mark 10:21, ‘Jesus loved him.’ Jesus loved him and then he said, “go sell everything you have and give to the poor.” You see love is kind - perhaps you recall that from the Apostle Paul’s famous love letter. But it goes on to say that love rejoices in truth. It’s both-and. To have these hard conversations with friends you have to speak truth in love, and you can be inspired by Jesus’ example and empowered by him to do just this.