Know The Truth
It is vital for us to know the truth, and especially relevant for the truth seeker who is looking for answers in the spiritual realm.
The Importance of Truth
If you were to ask my adult children how important truth-telling was to me when they were growing up, they would certainly place it on My Top 5 list, likely in the #1 or the #2 slot.
I remember one particular incident that would have sounded extremely strange to anyone who happened to overhear my conversation with my eldest.
Though my sons are now close, they often irritated one another when they were young. They sometimes came to blows, which gave my eldest—four years older than his brother—a definite advantage.
On the day in question, I entered their room and asked, “Did you hit your brother?”
When Son #1 said yes, I responded by saying, “You’re such a good boy!”
You see . . . I was thoroughly impressed that he didn’t try to lie his way out of possible punishment. (And yes, he was reprimanded.)
I always put great stock in my children—and others—telling me the truth . . . though someone who heard me would have been convinced that I was a very incompetent mother. But honesty was important to me.
Truth Is Important To God
And truth is even more important to God.
In John 8:31-32 (ESV) we read,
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
You may recognize the latter portion of verse 32, even if you are not familiar with the Scriptures. “The truth will set you free” is often quoted in movies and books and elsewhere.
However, as our Assistant Pastor is so fond of saying, “Context. Context. Context.”
Was Jesus talking about truth in general or a much more specific type of truth?
I Am The Way
We read in John 14:6, that Jesus said,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We must abide in His word. And no matter how many times we read a familiar passage, there is always something new to be learned, richer truths than we’d at first realized were there.
Upon reading this particular section of John 8 in preparation for writing this devotional, I realized, for the first time, that Jesus wasn’t addressing the religious leaders who rejected Him as the Messiah. He was addressing “those who had believed him.”
Proclaiming The Truth
There are those who might argue that proclaiming the truth will not set them free. In fact, for many, it can lead to great hardship. But that isn’t the kind of freedom Jesus was referring to. He knew how hard it would be on His 1st Century disciples (followers) and He knew how hard it would be on His 21st Century followers.
The freedom He referred to was the freedom from sin, spiritual freedom. And to experience this is truly awesome.
When my son admitted that he had hit his brother, I was pleased that he’d told the truth—and I believe God was too. But there is a truth that is infinitely more important, a rich storehouse of truth that is waiting to be discovered.
Though truth in general is important to the Lord, we must diligently study the Scriptures to more fully understand the freedom we have in the One who is truth, Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour.
How do you know the difference between truth and a deception? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire.
She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a prolific freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
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