RESPONDING TO THE TRUTH

Novelist Frank Norris once described his works of fiction this way, "I never took off the hat to fashion and held it out for pennies. By God, I told them the truth." It sounds like Norris valued honesty and genuineness about the human condition more than anything else. Perhaps he was inspired by the wisdom of Proverbs 23:23a: "Buy truth, and do not sell it." Or, perhaps Norris’ great respect for "the truth" was inspired by what Jesus said in John 8:32: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." But, regardless of what inspired Norris’ comment, God does have an extremely high regard for "the truth." After all, God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4)

Of course, "the truth" that Jesus was speaking of is not some subjective belief about what is honest and genuine concerning the human condition. The context of his famous statement includes verse 31 which says, "Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’." It is the inspired words of Christ that are "the truth." He makes this even clearer, in John 17:17, when he prays to God about His disciples to "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth." The words of God and of Christ are "the truth" that will make men free! It is this truth that God desires all men "to come to the knowledge of" so that they might be saved!

With this in mind, allow me to advocate these responses to "the truth." First of all, search for the truth. Jesus told us to "abide in" (or remain in) His word if we want to know the truth. It requires diligent work and diligent searching to handle accurately the truth of God’s word. (2 Timothy 2:15) Secondly, love and believe the truth. The sad truth is that people will be eternally lost who did not love and believe the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 12) Thirdly, practice the truth. 1 John 1:6, says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." Let me encourage you to make your response to the truth something that God would be proud of!

Ronaldo Ricardo Guzmán