The Truth of The Matter

　

　

　

"And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

John 8:32

This morning I spent 40 minutes starring blankly at this verse, wondering what in the world the Lord was trying to tell me. Ever get that gut feeling that the answer to your question is right in front of your face but you're just not seeing it? Yup, that was me. I almost wrote an intellectual monologue on truth. But that didn't feel right. It almost turned into an emotional expose on freedom. But I knew that wasn't it either. I am getting pretty fed up with trying to impose my will on the Scriptures. So I walked away.

It wasn't until I was sitting in class this morning that it finally hit me. Now hang with me, folks, because I'm not sure my brain was functioning at peak performance today, but it rarely does. Anyway, Peter goes to Cornelius's house, not knowing what to expect. The Spirit just told him to go, doubting nothing. He gets there, opens his mouth and starts preaching Jesus to the people. The Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles. I can just imagine the scene, Peter standing there watching all of this unfold before his eyes, the grace of God poured out on uncircumcised Gentiles. . .was he surprised? Shocked? Appalled? I don't know. But as he retells the story to the Jewish believers he says, "Then I remembered the word of the Lord. . ." Jump down to verse 17, "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"

Oh oh oh! Wait a minute. So Pete knew the word of the Lord and therefore he was able to properly interpret and respond to the situation laid before him. Knowledge of the word brought about the response. Here's where it gets a little messy, but the way I see it when I know the truth (and by the way, that's the word) it will determine my response to life.

See knowledge isn't just about intellect. It's also gained by experience. In fact, the Greek word in this verse for "know" carries with it the connotation of intimacy. If I don't spend time with, say, Tina, I may be able to observe things about her. As a third party, I can repeat here say as to her character but I will never actually know her. The same is true of the Scripture. If I don't abide in it, become familiar with it, act in accordance with it, carry it with me or experience it, I will never truly know it. And it is by the Truth contained in that Book that I am made free. What is that truth? The truth of who God is, who I am, the condition I find myself in and the unfathomable grace of God. The truth that I am no longer bound by the penalty or power of sin; Christ has defeated that. The truth that this world is not my home, and one day Jesus will come back and then there will be joy unspeakable and full of glory. That's the truth. But I don't have to know it. If I chose not to know it, I will be bound forever by lies and deception, most of which are of my own creation. The choice is mine to make.

When Paul wrote to the church of Galatia, he rebuked them for not knowing the truth: "O foolish Galations, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified?" They failed to act in accordance with the truth and became bound again to the law, which Christ came to fulfill and finish. That why Paul exhorts them in chapter 5 to "standfast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made you free, and do not be entangled again to a yoke of bondage." Know the truth, guys, 'cause the truth is gonna make you free!

I have been dragging a lot of baggage with me through my Christianity and the Lord had been so good to set me free from it. As I become accustom to walking without the weight of my burdens and being under the easy yoke of Christ, I can hear the beckoning of my chains calling me back. Today I will make the choice to abide in Jesus, who is the Word, and memorize Galations 5:1.