Saturday Scripture Gold with Bibi: The Truth Is Standing Right In Front of You!

“I am satisfied, and sufficiently occupied with the things which are, without tormenting or troubling myself about those which may indeed be, but of which I have no evidence.”   -Thomas Jefferson

A recent issue of Christianity Today magazine has an interesting article on doubt. The author (Mark Buchanan) tells of meeting a man who called himself a skeptic. He asked if the man had ever read the Bible. The man answered, “No, not really. I told you, I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe it.” The author’s response: “This is not skepticism. This is a refusal to investigate, to scrutinize, to ponder deeply.”

Certainly, you can keep on asking questions. You can keep on searching for truth. You can stay on the tentative side. You can continue to shop around. You can live out on the edge. But you will never, never get the full experience of life and truth until you just plunge in. You will never know all the truth until you commit to the truth you have. You will never get beyond skepticism to truth until you commit to the truth that is right in front of you.

For example, when they brought Jesus to trial before Pontius Pilate, two men faced each other to make a decision. One of the two was confident, assured, serene, certain. The other was hesitant, dubious, exasperated, struggling to find a way out. I think you know which was which. It all turned on Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

Born in skepticism, nourished in doubt, fostered by political intrigue, but uttered out of a mind that had entertained many claims to truth, Pilate’s question really makes us sit up and take notice. “What is truth?” If you know what it is, you are set for life. If you don’t know what it is, you can wander for a very long time. You can keep on searching for truth. You can stay on the tentative side. You can continue to shop around.

“What is truth?” One way to read the question is as the cynical snarl of a determined skeptic. The cynical, hard-boiled snarl of a determined skeptic. That’s what most people have heard in Pilate. The usual interpretation is that here is a man for whom truth was a cheap commodity. A person for whom there was no truth except what power would bring you.

“What is truth?” One answer is that there is no truth other than what the powerful say it is. You know the old saying, “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” For some people, truth is nothing more than whatever the folks you are trying to please say it is.

For some of us, truth doesn't really exist. We've been so burned with powerful people around us who want to tell us what to think and what to feel, we can’t think, we can’t feel anymore. We’re so tired of truth being bought and paid for. Somewhere along the way we have to learn who we are. If we’re going to ask Pilate’s question, I suggest we start with knowing our own hearts. I suggest we find out who we are and run with that.

If we truly are children of God, then we have to plunge into our own instincts. We have to trust ourselves; we have to believe that the Spirit of God speaks to us and does not deceive us. What is truth? It is not to be found in what is popular. It is to be found in the inner chambers of our own hearts, where the Spirit whispers to us. We have to learn to trust that, to trust ourselves. To plunge in. Because we will never know truth fully until we commit to the truth we have.

Truth is not just a matter of knowledge. Truth is not merely a question of information. Truth is plunging in. Truth is commitment to a person. Truth is acting on what you know. And when you see Christ, in all His love and all His glory, how much more do you need to know? How many questions must you have answered? How much information can you compile? And if you want more, is that just a smokescreen that you are using to keep Him at arm’s length?

My dear readers, you will never get all the truth you want without committing to the truth you have, the truth that is right in front of your eyes. At the last moment Pilate stepped back from Truth. Pilate let truth slip from his grip. Pilate signed truth’s death warrant. Pilate signed his own death warrant. He was so close; and the offer was right there. “For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.

Truth stood there and silently offered love and compassion, hope and possibility. Truth was no wispy thing, no cloudy ideal, no abstraction. Truth was flesh and blood. Truth was personal. Its name was Jesus Christ. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:6-7)

It was not Jesus who was on trial. It was the governor who was on trial. It was Pilate in the dock. Pilate who would have to answer the question, “What is truth?” For Truth stood before him, and stands before us, just waiting. Just waiting and offering. Just waiting and offering.

So if you see Him, why not know Him. And if you know Him, why not love Him? And if you love Him, why not follow Him? And if you follow Him, why not serve Him? If you know truth, this truth will set you free (John 8:32). If you know truth, this truth will keep you and hold you to the end. If you know the Son, you will truly be free.

Beloved, you will never know truth from the outside. The only way to know truth is to trust the truth you have, right in front of you: Jesus Christ. But, what will you decide? Will you accept His claim to be the King, or will you follow the voice of the crowd?

Scripture: John 8:32; John 14:6; Ephesians 6:14; Psalm 145:18; Psalm 119:160; 1 John 5:20; 1 Kings 17:24  

Now, let's pray...

O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen

Until next time...

May your week be blessed!

Bibi