Thought for Today
Psalm 5:9 For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.
Proverbs 12:17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness speaks deceitfully.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Pontus Pilate famously asked Jesus, “John 18:38 What is truth?" That question is echoing in my mind this morning after hearing the news reports last night that both presumptive candidates for President have agreed to debate on television. There seems to be great glee in the media and anxious anticipation of the agreed upon debates. Implicit in all of this is that the debates will reveal some objective truth about one or both of these presumptive candidates.
In high school history and civics classes I learned about the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. “The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven public debates in 1858 between Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln and incumbent Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas.” (internet search) The first modern, television Presidential debates I remember were those between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon in 1960. The truth I see in either set of debates is more about the relative abilities of the participants to control the scene and captivate the audiences. We learned the ‘truth’ of which participants could present the most likeable, friendly presence. We did not discern anything that would have helped us anticipate the Civil War, the Bay of Pigs fiasco or the Watergate nightmare.
Is it ‘true’ that 2 + 2 = 4? Yes, at least as far as we have seen so far. Is it true that the circumference of a circle always equals 2πr? Yes, at least as far as we have seen so far. However, that does not mean that if we take a measuring device and measure the radius of a circle and the circle’s circumference, we will get an exact, even number. The ‘constant’ we represent with the Greek letter π is an irrational number. “Irrational numbers have decimal expansions that do not repeat or terminate.” (internet search) Sometimes ‘truth’ comes with qualifications and complexities, subtle shades of contextual implication.
The truth mentioned in the Bible and the truth Pilate sought are entirely different subjects than any truths we might glean from televised political debates or mathematical considerations. The truth that will set us free has nothing to do with election campaigns or media hype. John 8:31-32 reads in full, “31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Lincoln and Douglas were debating slavery and its extension into newly created states and territories. Jesus was talking about an entirely different kind of slavery. Jesus’ promise is freedom from slavery to the Mosaic Law, freedom from the tyranny of sin and separation from our Creator God. Jesus was referring to the truth of Paul’s understanding that “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” That is objective truth on a wholly different level!
I often think, write and speak about several passages in scripture. I find great objective truth in Genesis 1:1, in Micah 6:8, in John 3:16-17. I love the definition in Hebrews for faith, “11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That assurance and that conviction are real, objective truth. I may not be able to write an equation to represent that like I can for the circumference of a circle; but, I know that faith in Jesus will set me free. If I continue in his word, I will truly be his disciple; and I will know the truth, and the truth will make me free. The truth from that wonderful hymn I learned as a young child, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
That is the only real, objective truth we need in life. The truth of God’s love; the truth of God’s grace; the truth of God’s Son. All we need do is to accept God’s grace and love and continue in Jesus’ word. And that’s the truth!
Stay safe, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray