Far above the ground, Le’enis inched out on a limb, his gnarled feet gripping it expertly. He gave the honeycomb a good whack with his long stick. But then he lost his balance. The old honey hunter crashed down through the branches to the foot of the huge tree.

In the Manjúi culture of Paraguay, being a strong and capable person is highly valued. So when a sick or wounded person thinks he might die or become a helpless invalid who can’t provide for his family, he resigns himself to his useless fate, refuses to eat or drink and eventually dies. And this seriously injured honey hunter began to follow his culture.

But Le’enis was also part of a new culture as a believer and follower of Jesus. And his 21-year-old grandson was going to make sure he didn’t forget it. He sat on a mat and gently held his grandfather’s head in his lap. Softly stroking his hair, he reminded Le’enis that it was the God of the Bible, not fate, that was in charge of both the quality and the quantity of life.

He reminded him of God’s provision, His goodness, His sovereignty and His plan—His perfect plan. But most of all, he reminded his grandfather that the sweetness in life came not from the honey that he found, but from the loving God who supplied the honey.

And the weakened, old honey hunter listened to the truth — and lived.

Sometimes life can just jar the truth right out of us. And in our weakened, vulnerable state, we can fall for deceptions. If Le’enis’ family had just shaken their heads and walked on by, this story would have had a very different ending. But one grandson took it upon himself to tell his grandfather the truth— and it made the difference between life and death.

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

There are a million things that we can be talking about. But there’s nothing that invigorates or inspires us or that rallies our spirit more than the truth. What kinds of conversations are you having? May our words always bring life-giving truth.