Truth is a temperate creature, or so it seems to us, people, humans I mean. It seems fleeting, inconsistent, or at best relative to our circumstances in life. Like beauty... it is often in the eye of the beholder.
The dictionary defines truth as......
a verified or indisputable fact.
Examples.....
Does life exist on other planets?
Did we form from a cosmic bang, or an intentional Creator?
Do I have purpose in life? Even in ourselves we desire confirmation of purpose.
David said, in Psalm 139.....
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
So how do we get to "the truth"? Who do you trust for the truth? Jesus stated verily, verily (or truly, truly) about 69 times in the New Testament. In the life-quest for truth the question today is ....do you believe Jesus "is" the embodiment of the truth? I'm here to tell ya'.... there is no way you'll follow Him very long if you do not believe so.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in 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." They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father." (John 8:31-38 ESV)
Truth is ......we think we are free.
A popular movie epitomized the real human quest; the search for true freedom, who we truly are. The story demonstrated that the life we wake up to everyday is not "real". It's a cover-up for our real lives. The truth, in this case, was not nearly as attractive, but at least it was "real".
It seems that we are ok with a false-life, until it doesn't agree with us or turns on us.
Truth is ....we do not want to answer to anyone.
These Jews, to whom Jesus was speaking, knew their lineage back to Abraham, the father of their faith. They also well knew the truth of their bondage, slavery, in Egypt. They knew that God, through Moses, had freed them. How could Jesus speak of being "free indeed"? They thought they already were!
Truth is .....Jesus IS the truth
In his own skeptical quest for the truth Doubting Thomas asked...... "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 13:5-6
In Christ-followship our search for "facts" will require "faith". Without it, there is no joy of living in Christ.
