“I
have come that they have life, and have it to the full” John
10:10
It is interesting that the
author uses John 10:10 as his opening scripture and then immediately dives into
“what is truth”. It would seem
that he is saying there is a link between having life to the full and knowing
truth. Only a few chapters later in
John 16:6 Jesus himself says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
Jesus directly connects life and truth together in Himself.
Our question is what is truth and how does it affect our lives, our
everyday lives.
In our lives before we met
Christ we developed our own ideas of foundational truth.
Some truths came to us as lessons taught, ideas shared, education social
norms even friends and enemies, etc. All of these ideas are channeled together
into a system of truth or worldview, a way of seeing the world, others,
ourselves and how we fit or do not fit into it.
The problem is apart from Christ we only know “our truth” not “the
truth”.
Richard Stearns says “The
really annoying problem with the truth, though, is that it is true.
And things that are true put boundaries around us in ways we do not
always like”.
“The truth” forces us to look at “our truth” and when they do not align, one of them must change. Sadly it is often easier to bend God’s truth than to replace our self-imposed truth and here in lies one of our great troubles. Jesus said “If anyone wishes to come after Me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. We are told to deny self and we cling to self-imposed truth and self centered thinking.
“The truth” forces us to look at “our truth” and when they do not align, one of them must change. Sadly it is often easier to bend God’s truth than to replace our self-imposed truth and here in lies one of our great troubles. Jesus said “If anyone wishes to come after Me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. We are told to deny self and we cling to self-imposed truth and self centered thinking.
Finding the truth is not a
moment in time event, it is more like a journey.
It is in reality walking with the Lord.
Could you imagine being on the road to Emmaus (Luke 23:13-36) with Christ
right there to teach you as you walked. You
do not have to imagine anything, He is here now in the person of His Spirit
ready to “guide you into all truth” John 16:13.
The path is clear. The way to
find life, real full life is to seek the truth. To seek the truth I must find
the way. How can I become Christ’s
student if I believe I have all the answers, if I am unwilling to exchange my
truth for His. Let me first come
with a teachable spirit in humility, with deep respect for God’s revealed
truth, His word. With repentance,
yes, but even more with great joy that our Father desires to give us His truth
more than we desire to seek it!!!
Father I pray that through this series we will all come to you not only with an open mind but also an open heart that you would correct and redirect us into the glorious image of your Son. Let us seek truth as if it was a “pearl of great price” because it most certainly is, Amen
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