What about Truth
I can already imagine shrieks from some of my tribe about the
direction of this blog. They’re just aching
to take me to the woodshed…. “But what about TRUTH?” They may predict this site
will present some namby pamby, politically correct, can’t-we-just-get-along
drivel. If you haven’t noticed, members of our tribe tend to pounce on those
who stray from their perception of orthodoxy.
But as my Dad would tell me when I questioned his methods,
“Just hide and watch, my son.” So…give me some time to develop this – cut me
some slack. You just might be surprised that members of our tribe need to grow.
We need a larger view too.
As you can see from my background introduction on the About
page, I peer through the lens of a Christian worldview. And I am a follower of
Jesus Christ. But I have grown increasingly frustrated with the attitudes often
conveyed in public and private by religious advocates.
Many persons outside of church don’t see the love that our Savior commands. Instead,
some see our defense and dogma as hate. They see hypocrisy and hear
sanctimonious talk. They feel disapproval and exclusion. When I step back and
watch through their eyes, I understand their concerns. Right or wrong…they’ve
heard it. They’ve seen it. And they’ve
tuned out. I am not content to leave that dynamic uncorrected or unrefuted.
Jesus had a large view. In Luke 6:27-28, He
stated, “Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you.” Now that’s a larger view. You ask, “What about TRUTH?” I say,
it’s time for the TRUTH to live in us.
In one of many sessions of discussing matters of faith with a self-proclaimed atheist, after beginning to read the Bible he asked, “If Christians are followers of Jesus, why don’t they look more like Him?” It was not asked mean-spirited, or hateful, just curious, perplexed, inquisitive. Not an easy question to field. Fair question. Why not?
Unfortunately”Truth” is whatever you believe is the truth to you.
Seems like someone in the Bible asked Jesus that question.
For most it whatever we think is the truth but that is a very dangerous slope because we can believe in our heart that we are right about a matter and find out later on that we were mistaken even though we would hVe sworn on a stack of Bibles tha we were right. The heart is deceptive beyond all finding out and who can know it the Book says!!
So, we need to speak humbly and prayerfully lest we find out the “truth” and have to eat crow!!
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
Our duality paradigm often limits our understanding of ultimate Truth, I believe. I do see this as a quest – a journey – to a destination I cannot know. But the directions along the Way are plainly prescribed. Simple – but not easy. I stumble, fall, scrape my knees and elbows, sometimes knock down a fellow traveler, too – but I hope I learn and grow in my understanding along the way.