Where Do You Find Truth?
Our world is pretty crazy right now, isn’t it? It seems almost cliché to say that anymore. It used to seem like it was only in specific or unusual times that the world seemed crazy and that it would go back to times that felt calmer. However, for a few years now it just seems like we’re living in a reality show with a plot to see how much crazier this week can be than last week.
In the midst of all of the noise is a struggle to find truth. It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about, I seem to hear more and more people say that they don’t know what to believe. They don’t know what information to trust. They don’t know which sources of information to believe. For every ounce of truth we come across, there seems to be a hundred pounds of lies surrounding it. What is truth?
This is an age-old question that is not new to our own time. The Roman governor Pontus Pilate asked Jesus this question after Jesus had been arrested and brought to Pilate’s headquarters. Jesus had just finished telling him that “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responds with “What is truth?”
In reality, Jesus had just laid it out for him in his previous statement. However, if that wasn’t clear enough, in John’s gospel Jesus also says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Truth is found in Jesus. In fact, not just any truth or one of many “truths” as seems popular today when we hear people say that you can have your truth and I can have my truth. Jesus is, himself, the truth. In John 8 Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What does this mean for us today? Well, it means that we can cut through all the noise that we hear around us and refocus ourselves on where we get real truth – Jesus. When we read his word in the Bible, we discover the first truth that we’re all born sinful and separated from God. This helps us understand our own inability to be perfect and why the world around us seems so crazy. As we read God’s word, we also discover another truth. It’s the fact that God loves you so much that he wasn’t willing to let you stay in that separated condition. To make it right again he sent Jesus into the world to live a perfect life, proclaim the good news, and die on the cross to take the death we deserved.
Fortunately for us Jesus didn’t stay dead, but rose back to life on the first Easter just as he had promised. This miraculous event means that we can trust whatever he says. So when someone asks what is truth, we turn to Jesus. He says that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. He also says that we are to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. All of God’s expectations for our lives can be summarized in those two truths.
Imagine what our world would look like if we were practicing those two truths. Imagine how different things would be if we made loving the people around us as much as we love ourselves. Imagine what it would look like if we spent our time figuring out how to count others more significant than ourselves knowing that no matter what happens here on earth we have a promise from God of a life that never ends. No one can take that promise away from us.
Now this all might seem like a difficult task. To be honest, it most definitely is. Maybe it isn’t worth it. Maybe it’s more important to just look out for yourself and to just walk away from Jesus and his gifts. This option came up for Jesus’ twelve disciples. Many who had heard Jesus teaching thought that what he was saying was too difficult and decided to stop following him. Jesus asked his twelve disciples if they wanted to leave too. Saint Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Where else do we go? Everything else around us will fail at some point. The good news for you is that Jesus will not fail. Not only is he the source of truth but he’s also the way to life that never ends and his promises are good forever. So when you’re struggling with the events of the world and wondering where to find truth, take heart and turn to Jesus and he will be with you every step of the way!
In the midst of all of the noise is a struggle to find truth. It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about, I seem to hear more and more people say that they don’t know what to believe. They don’t know what information to trust. They don’t know which sources of information to believe. For every ounce of truth we come across, there seems to be a hundred pounds of lies surrounding it. What is truth?
This is an age-old question that is not new to our own time. The Roman governor Pontus Pilate asked Jesus this question after Jesus had been arrested and brought to Pilate’s headquarters. Jesus had just finished telling him that “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responds with “What is truth?”
In reality, Jesus had just laid it out for him in his previous statement. However, if that wasn’t clear enough, in John’s gospel Jesus also says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Truth is found in Jesus. In fact, not just any truth or one of many “truths” as seems popular today when we hear people say that you can have your truth and I can have my truth. Jesus is, himself, the truth. In John 8 Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What does this mean for us today? Well, it means that we can cut through all the noise that we hear around us and refocus ourselves on where we get real truth – Jesus. When we read his word in the Bible, we discover the first truth that we’re all born sinful and separated from God. This helps us understand our own inability to be perfect and why the world around us seems so crazy. As we read God’s word, we also discover another truth. It’s the fact that God loves you so much that he wasn’t willing to let you stay in that separated condition. To make it right again he sent Jesus into the world to live a perfect life, proclaim the good news, and die on the cross to take the death we deserved.
Fortunately for us Jesus didn’t stay dead, but rose back to life on the first Easter just as he had promised. This miraculous event means that we can trust whatever he says. So when someone asks what is truth, we turn to Jesus. He says that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. He also says that we are to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. All of God’s expectations for our lives can be summarized in those two truths.
Imagine what our world would look like if we were practicing those two truths. Imagine how different things would be if we made loving the people around us as much as we love ourselves. Imagine what it would look like if we spent our time figuring out how to count others more significant than ourselves knowing that no matter what happens here on earth we have a promise from God of a life that never ends. No one can take that promise away from us.
Now this all might seem like a difficult task. To be honest, it most definitely is. Maybe it isn’t worth it. Maybe it’s more important to just look out for yourself and to just walk away from Jesus and his gifts. This option came up for Jesus’ twelve disciples. Many who had heard Jesus teaching thought that what he was saying was too difficult and decided to stop following him. Jesus asked his twelve disciples if they wanted to leave too. Saint Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Where else do we go? Everything else around us will fail at some point. The good news for you is that Jesus will not fail. Not only is he the source of truth but he’s also the way to life that never ends and his promises are good forever. So when you’re struggling with the events of the world and wondering where to find truth, take heart and turn to Jesus and he will be with you every step of the way!
Posted in PastorsPen