What is the Truth Anyway?
What is the truth? Is truth something that we decide for ourselves? Is there such a thing as absolute truth? If truth is absolute, then no matter who doesn’t know it or refuses to believe it, it would still be true. If you have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as absolute truth, are you absolutely sure your conclusion is true?
Are there not facts that we know to be absolutely true? For instance, is it not absolutely true that the sun is a huge ball of fire? Or, that snow is made of water? Or, that water is two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule? Or, that the earth is a round orb? Perhaps when we ask the question, “What is the truth?” we need to also ask, “How do we arrive at the conclusion that something is true?”
Further, if something is indeed true, is it not absolutely true? Just because we don’t know if something is true, doesn’t mean it isn’t. There are certainly false concepts that some people mistakenly believe to be true. The Catholic Church once proclaimed that it was absolutely true that the earth is flat. That turned out to be completely false. Seeking to find out “what is the truth” can be vitally important.
If what Jesus said in John 8:32, "...and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" is valid, we might want to take note of it and pursue Truth!
Your Truth and My Truth?
When two people have differing opinions about something, it is not accurate to say each has his “own truth” about the matter. Forming opinions should simply be a path toward discovering “what is the truth”.
If two opinions are completely opposite of each other, one of several things might be happening. Both could be wrong. Both could be partially right, due to an incomplete understanding of the matter. One could be right and the other wrong. There really aren’t any other scenarios.
If we want freedom, we must also seek to know “what is the truth”, because truth anchors freedom. Freedom is lost in an environment of deception (the opposite of truth). The more truth we and those around us know and embrace, the more freedom is secured.
Decisions, Decisions
Often, we unwittingly pursue freedom from truth to avoid accountability for our poor decisions. That is the mindset behind “freedom from religion”, rather than “freedom of religion” guaranteed in the 1st amendment of the U.S. Constitution. True religion is the source of true morality. Morality should be based on truth.
Truth is like a compass. It helps us direct our lives positively and protects us from losing our way. Lack of truth will leave us wandering around bumping into half “truths” here and lies with false promises there. Life becomes a wandering mess without truth. We become slaves to false concepts that keep our lives spinning out of control. Without truth, negative consequences result from actions taken based on poor decision making.
Notions that bounce around in our heads without truth to guide our decisions keeps us bound to one undesirable result after another. Truth is like an outside force that our internal compass needs to be calibrated toward. Just like a compass that points to magnetic north, our minds need to be fixed to point to truth. When storms of life arise, we need to be anchored by truth. Discovering truth is a life-long pursuit.
What is the Truth? A Person!
We need a force outside of ourselves to guide our lives toward good and away from evil. That vital force is truth. One person, who claimed to have created the entire universe including the human race, also claimed to be living truth. He further claimed to be God Himself. That famous Person is Jesus Christ. He was either absolutely crazy, or we need to get to know Him and know Him well. Plenty of secular historical records show that He actually did die and rise from the dead.
He personally promised that, after He died and rose, He would make truth known to us by sending His Spirit to guide us “into all the truth”. But, human choice was always a part of the plan for mankind. Since love can’t be forced, He wants humans to choose to accept His love and to love Him back.
The Holy Bible records that the Creator planned for the Christ-event, the pivotal event of human history, since before man was created. God expected and planned for the fall of man. Thankfully, a fail-safe plan was in place from the beginning. God Himself would come down and live a sinless life among His own creation. He would pay the penalty for our sins with His own flawless human life.
Since He was God in the flesh, He was the only one who could pay the penalty for sin once and for all, expressing His great love for His creation. Once He did that, the human choice factor stayed in place. Humans could choose direct access to the source of Truth, of Love and of Life. We have to choose the gift of salvation and all the benefits that go with it.
If we claim to have our own truth, then we have essentially claimed to be our own god. The God of truth leads us to know that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and He is the source of it. He wants to reveal Himself to each of us and to enlighten us with an increasing knowledge of what is the truth. Truth anchors freedom and blessings forever. And, yes, that includes eternal life.
Truth in it's fullness is in the Person of Jesus. Let Him teach you- How to Pray.
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