Passionate opinion, deep conviction, citing of supporting “experts” or “data” does not equal truth.
My daughter posted a status on facebook yesterday that was, in part, a response to the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. At the moment she has 29 likes and 50 comments. I have not read them all, but I did scan them yesterday. Most of the comments are deeply held opinions. Most of the comments reflect a world view that is colored by those opinions. Some even refer to the Bible to support their positions, but it is obvious that they are unaware of what the Bible actually says.
Truth is truth. We may not like it, but it is. I have faced truths in my life which frankly I did not like and did not want to accept. They were still true. I worked hard at making them not true, in some cases coming up with elaborate constructs to alter the reality. Did not work, they were still true.
As believers we are bound by what God says is true. We may argue with Him; we will lose. In order to find truth we have to first acknowledge that we have a preconceived idea of what it should be. Then we have to check the data, in most cases for us, the Bible to see what it says. If it does not align with what we think is true, we probably need to adjust. The problem is that we can find “experts” who will just about validate any position we want to take. So we cannot rely on experts. We have to rely on the Word of God and the Helper He sent to lead us into all truth, John 16:13.
Truth is truth. We may not like it, but it is. I have faced truths in my life which frankly I did not like and did not want to accept. They were still true. I worked hard at making them not true, in some cases coming up with elaborate constructs to alter the reality. Did not work, they were still true.
As believers we are bound by what God says is true. We may argue with Him; we will lose. In order to find truth we have to first acknowledge that we have a preconceived idea of what it should be. Then we have to check the data, in most cases for us, the Bible to see what it says. If it does not align with what we think is true, we probably need to adjust. The problem is that we can find “experts” who will just about validate any position we want to take. So we cannot rely on experts. We have to rely on the Word of God and the Helper He sent to lead us into all truth, John 16:13.
What a word for our Day, Mike (well every day, really)! How grateful we can be that truth is; it just is. How grateful we can be that it can't be changed - how would you (plural, global "you") feel if I could change truth? You sure wouldn't like it; neither would I like your changes!
ReplyDeleteI think that many of my struggles against truth in my own life spring from a self-styled concept of the goodness of God. I can't remember where or when it came. But somehow I decided that God's goodness meant He would do what I liked and made me feel good. I know I'm not alone; it's some kind of human characteristic.
Take Eve in the Garden: "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom..." (c.f. 1 John 2:15,16)
That fruit would sure make her feel good! Part of God's good creation. Why not? Well, we know. But it's the same for me - just because I evaluate something as "good" doesn't make it so.
Having children helped me begin to get a better subjective grasp of this. It's clear that (as incredibly SWEET as all our little girls were :)) somehow they didn't get the idea that there was truth out there that would destroy them if they defied it. My true goodness (and love) demanded that I protect them were necessary, but more importantly help them understand appropriate truth and train them how to respond.
How did I do? I guess you will need to ask them. But it trained me; to that I can affirm.
Do you ever wonder just what God is doing in your life - like I do almost constantly? I'm on the journey. And the book of Job speaks to me as never before. After 37 chapters of Job and his friends wrestling with this question God shows up and gives Job the face to face interview he desired.
Commentators like to point out that God never explains to Job the "why" of his sufferings. Job never clearly saw (although I think he did see indications) the heavenly battle behind the visible curtain. God never explained what He was trying to do. And I believe the reason is that He didn't need to. He showed Job a dazzling (although tiny) view of His glory, and Job got the point. I think Ch.42:1-6 explains it eloquently. Job came to the end of himself - and saw the glory of God, and recognized His kindness: "I have (past tense) heard of You BUT NOW my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."(emphasis added) Job saw truth about God.
What else can be the result when I see even a bit of the glory of God?