Truth… A Necessary Beginning

September 5, 2012 G_d, Truth No Comments

What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

~Morpheus, The Matrix
 
  
Truth is A Necessary Beginning.*  And, in spite of our denial, can be a great source of power and comfort for living life.
 
Truth is defined by the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary as:
  •  “conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.”
Life tells us that truth is an elusive concept, and it is certainly difficult to practice.  Yet truth is the foundation on which we must build our life.  At the end of denial we crash full-on into reality.  This can hurt, but it can also be the beginning of a whole new life for anyone willing to submit to the fact that truth is real.
 
Here’s the rub: To define truth, there has to be a standard, a plumb-line against which all other data and information is compared.  And the truth is that this standard is the Word of God.
 
I’ll not spend too much time on why the Bible is true, except to say that there are literally millions of man-years of study that have gone into this subject.  The data are in.  The Bible is true.  See Bedrock… The Bible Is True and The Catalyst of His Grace… Faith for more if desired.
 
The great news, though, is that when we become willing to align our lives with the Word of G_d, the insanity in our lives very quickly begins to give way to clarity, honesty and a sense of purpose.
 
However, for truth to work in our lives, it must be pervasive.  We cannot live our lives under the banner of that which is true, yet have areas of shadow in our existence.  Shadow cannot abide in the light of truth.  This is just true.  Let us try very hard here to NOT play any cultural games with our minds right now.  Beloved, we know that truth exists and that for it to work in our lives, we must be true in all areas of our lives.  We must get honest with:
  • Ourselves
  • Our G_d
  • Our Family and Friends

And once we walk into the light of truth, we need to stay there

  • For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. John 3:20,21

And again, truth requires accepting G_d’s standard for truth and knowing the sufficiency of Scripture to enforce truth in our lives.

  • The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.  Psalm 119:160
  • All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16,17

At first, this all seems so stuffy and confining.  But, when we really think about it, we begin to see and feel all the good things about truth.  Here is one example: gravity.  Gravity is “on.”  Gravity does not go “off.” Gravity works all the time, and even though it is the weakest of forces, it alone is the force that crushes large stars (and even clusters of galaxies) into tiny black holes.

Truth is like gravity.  Truth seems to be weak at first, but it always wins out.  Always.  Run that statement through Scripture, through the history books, and through our own lives.  Truth always wins.  If it hasn’t won yet in some area, we even still know that truth’s victory is assured.

How do we handle gravity?  We align ourselves with the fact that it exists.  We live, move, build, and be counting on gravity working as it is.  How then should we handle truth?  Might i be so simple as to say:  Just like gravity.

G_d’s truth is like gravity, only more constant.

  • The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.  Isaiah 40:8

 

For the truth-teller and truth-seeker, indeed, the whole world has very little liking. He is always unpopular, and not infrequently his unpopularity is so excessive that it endangers his life. Run your eye back over the list of martyrs, lay and clerical; nine-tenths of them stood accused of nothing worse than honest efforts to find out and announce the truth.
~H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

 

 
* Many thanks to America’s Keswick Colony of Mercy.  The Colony’s Victorious Christian Life curriculum serves as a basis for much of what is written in this post.  i lived at America’s Keswick for five months, and am eternally grateful for the teaching of this ministry.  For more information go to http://www.americaskeswick.org

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About The Author

Makala Doulos

Mak is just a guy who is in Love with Jesus and his wife and kids. He writes about the amazing things that G_d is doing in our lives. May you be blessed and encouraged.