This is good, and is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

“You can’t handle the truth!” Famous words shouted by Jack Nicholson’s character in the film A Few Good Men. Some truth is so devastating it is unbearable.

 “What is truth?” Pilate asked this question of Jesus. We, like Pilate, may think that we want to have the truth, only to decide it must be false because we don’t like it. What we reject, may be the very truth we need to accept. Furthermore, what we think is true may actually be a lie. Since no one can really know what is true, we have to put our trust in a source who is the truth and can not lie. 

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we believe God to be true, incapable of a lie, and has given us the Bible, then we have a source that we can completely trust.  

There appears to be a growing acceptance that truth is whatever we want it to be. “I have my own truth, don’t bother me with your truth.” The Bible tells us that our conscience knows there is a God. Many do not want to believe in a God to whom they must give an account. Our knowledge of God can be suppressed by a repeated process of denying His existence. By choosing not to believe in God or His Word, there can be temporary freedom from a troubled conscience. Perhaps this thinking stems from a desire to eliminate consequences. But will the rejection of a truth remove its consequence?

We live within the bounds of time. Time has a beginning and an end. For our mortal bodies, the end is just a matter of when and how.  If none of us really know what happens after we die, shouldn’t we place our trust in the One who does? Jesus says in John 3:16, “whoever believes in me should not perish but have eternal life.” This gift is available to all because of His love. Should we trust our eternal existence in hope derived from our own mind, or should we trust in a loving God who created that mind? Making the wrong choice in regard to eternity carries an unnecessary consequence.  

This week, if you have not already accepted God’s truth, go to the Bible and find what is most valuable for life. Let God’s Spirit reveal truth in love that is transformational. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “if you abide in my word…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”