Truth. Truth is a word that has been abused and misused for millennia, like so many other words such as: love, freedom, and faith. Men and women the world over claim they want the truth. Many a poem, and many songs have been written in dedication to it, lauding its virtue, and lamenting over its scarcity. Yet when it is clarion call is sounded, or boldly put on display for the public to embrace, history records that more often than not, the bearers of truth bravely do so to the forfeit of their life. Why? What is so volatile about the truth that makes some people willing commit murder in order to suppress it? Not to be cliche, but ol' Colonel Jessup was right, when he shouted that now famous line at Lt. Daniel Kaffee, who felt entitled to know the truth in the movie, "A Few Good Men." Not many people can handle it- the truth, that is.
The truth - God's absolute truth to be exact, is what I crave. After you get a taste of it, nothing else compares. Not a truth, not some truth, but the whole truth and nothing but the truth, that's the good stuff!
According to Scripture (the true Christian's manual and standard of living), the truth is what will set you free. Since The Almighty created the world (according to the Bible), and everything in it, then it stands to reason that he has the right to set the standard, or rules for living in it. So who is the keeper, or bearer of the standard of the truth? Jesus is. So what better person is there to be handing out the bitter pills of absolute truth, that cures all of the ills of a sick and weary soul, than the one who created those souls and is the embodiment of truth? Scripture says that every man is a liar, but God is true. Jesus, God in the flesh, is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to the Father, but through, or by him. He is also called the living word, meaning, he is the embodiment of it. So, just as people caught in a lie react violently toward Jesus being the only way to God, they will do so when the truth is uttered, because it exposes and expels the darkness where lies hide. When someone speaks "truth", but it doesn't cause a violent reaction, then either the person isn't in caught in dishonesty, or what was said was not the absolute truth. However, when absolute truth is spoken, it can still cause a violent reaction within the people who really wanted to hear it! Why? Because a lie has been exposed, a lie they may be holding on to. See? The truth is rarely inert. For example, when the men on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus, and he opened up the Scriptures to them regarding the Christ, and their hearts burned within them. Oh to have been privy to that conversation!--how I greatly envy them that kind of heartburn!
According to Scripture (the true Christian's manual and standard of living), the truth is what will set you free. Since The Almighty created the world (according to the Bible), and everything in it, then it stands to reason that he has the right to set the standard, or rules for living in it. So who is the keeper, or bearer of the standard of the truth? Jesus is. So what better person is there to be handing out the bitter pills of absolute truth, that cures all of the ills of a sick and weary soul, than the one who created those souls and is the embodiment of truth? Scripture says that every man is a liar, but God is true. Jesus, God in the flesh, is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to the Father, but through, or by him. He is also called the living word, meaning, he is the embodiment of it. So, just as people caught in a lie react violently toward Jesus being the only way to God, they will do so when the truth is uttered, because it exposes and expels the darkness where lies hide. When someone speaks "truth", but it doesn't cause a violent reaction, then either the person isn't in caught in dishonesty, or what was said was not the absolute truth. However, when absolute truth is spoken, it can still cause a violent reaction within the people who really wanted to hear it! Why? Because a lie has been exposed, a lie they may be holding on to. See? The truth is rarely inert. For example, when the men on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus, and he opened up the Scriptures to them regarding the Christ, and their hearts burned within them. Oh to have been privy to that conversation!--how I greatly envy them that kind of heartburn!
Counterfeit truths surely abound in this life, but for something to be considered a counterfeit, it is understood that there is an original. Just as there is only one absolute truth, there are many counterfeits, knock offs, or even"half" truths. Do you see the correlation? So the original standard, or measuring line for the truth is God's inerrant word - or Scripture. Sure, many will claim that the Bible is not inerrant, and that there are many mistakes found in it, even contradictions. They even provide somewhat convincing proofs of their claims, but when their proofs are put to the flame of scrutiny, they vanish like rum burnt off in a flaming pan of Bananas Foster. You see dear reader, the truth is never afraid of scrutiny, the truth revels in it. The truth doesn't fear being exposed. The truth welcomes exposure. So, when there is a fraud that is being questioned in your midst, they are usually loud, obnoxious, and haughty, or they may even be evasive and never really answer the direct and probing questions you ask them. Yes I tell you the truth, that when someone asks a genuine question that would expose the liar, immediately insults fly from the liar's mouth, and demeaning rhetoric is aimed at the questioner's intelligence. This is standard Word of Faith procedure when exposure is a threat. Why? Because they can't handle the truth, and neither can their followers.