That was the question that Pilate asked Christ, John 8:38. There are those that say it does not exist, that what is true is situational. That has never been true on any of the tests I have taken from the first grade at Charles E Gill elementary through the master’s program at Dallas Seminary. All of the teachers and professors in those venues seemed to think there was a right or wrong answer to the questions they posed. So I have never really understood this relative idea of truth. It may because most of my life I have been bound by math.
Flying a T-37 or a T-38 there was truth. If I chose to try to fly the plane off of the runway at a speed lower than required, neither plane would. If I chose to land at a speed other than indicated by the plane’s configuration, I would have made a large smoking hole somewhere near the end of the runway. Seems like there was truth in that domain.
So in our search for truth where do we look? We daily have people telling us that what they are saying is true. Many of them are making completely incompatible statements, yet both parties are claiming to be telling the truth. We have politicians on either side of an issue saying they are telling the truth essentially calling the other side liars. We have clerics of various religious systems claiming that they are the exclusive stewards of the truth. They cannot all be right.
There is one who is behind all lies. Christ calls him the father of lies, John 8:44. His passion is to confuse and convolute the language and data so that the truth is at best difficult to find. So what do we do?
Psalm 117:2 gives us some direction here I think, “…the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” The search for truth is impossible apart from God. Any inquiry into truth that does not acknowledge or incorporate seeking God’s mind, will fail. That is, the result of the inquiry will be false. People who are not seeking truth in this manner may find some truth. However, understanding and application will be skewed apart from a God centered and directed inquiry.
Truth is only found in the Lord.
So in our search for truth where do we look? We daily have people telling us that what they are saying is true. Many of them are making completely incompatible statements, yet both parties are claiming to be telling the truth. We have politicians on either side of an issue saying they are telling the truth essentially calling the other side liars. We have clerics of various religious systems claiming that they are the exclusive stewards of the truth. They cannot all be right.
There is one who is behind all lies. Christ calls him the father of lies, John 8:44. His passion is to confuse and convolute the language and data so that the truth is at best difficult to find. So what do we do?
Psalm 117:2 gives us some direction here I think, “…the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” The search for truth is impossible apart from God. Any inquiry into truth that does not acknowledge or incorporate seeking God’s mind, will fail. That is, the result of the inquiry will be false. People who are not seeking truth in this manner may find some truth. However, understanding and application will be skewed apart from a God centered and directed inquiry.
Truth is only found in the Lord.
Jesus seemed to agree; praying to the Father for His disciples (and by extension us) He noted that "..you word is truth" (John 17:17). I looked at ten English translations and all said essentially same thing. Perhaps Greek might indicate a nuance, but It is reasonable for me to assume that the everlasting truth of the Lord would be encapsulated in His word inspired and protected through His Holy Spirit to be delivered to us so we might know and walk with the Lord God of truth (Ps.31:5).
ReplyDeleteGood observation. Thanks.
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