Receiving Love (?)

True friendship is a valuable and risky. I was reminded today that a large part of love is speaking the truth to someone when they are in sin. On the flip side, a large part of allowing yourself to be loved, to opening up your heart and life to another, is being willing to receive these hard words that another may share with you.

This convicted me in regards to my view of love. I would much rather hold onto the feel-good perception that my loving my brothers and sisters in Christ involves making sure they understand their worth before God and encouraging them in the gifts that they have. Yet, this other side of love - this side of lovingly speaking into their life when a need is evident is hard, and I often do not think of it as love. 

Yet, Christ did not mince words that there is a cost in following him, that unless you abandon all you cannot be his, and that ultimately we are sinners and need to recognize that before coming to him. The Holy Spirit works to convict our hearts once we believe. Yet,  God has put us in a Body with people who are different then us so that we may learn from others and grow in our areas of weakness. 

He created us to need those hard words (if we didn't, we may grow proud); he loves us too much to leave us with our sins, hence the truth of Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Now, will we love others as he has loved us in speaking the truth when it is needed (with grace and humility)? More pointedly (and more important), are we willing to receive this sort of love from those around us?