June 4, 2025

What is truth?

 

These days I dislike several television items: the news, and various pundits who discuss what they think will happen. The dictionary describes them as: “an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called on to give opinions about it to the public.” Expert or not, they are still offering an opinion. No one knows the future.

Google says that, “When their personal opinion outweighs considered judgment, people who give opinions, whether on current events, public affairs, sports, media or art are often referred to as "pundits" instead of critics. Critics are themselves subject to competing critics, since the final critical judgment always entails subjectivity.”

While pundits may not call their opinions lies, they cannot claim them to be true. I’ve had a aversion to lies, partly because of the insult I feel when someone lies to me, but even more when I experience the harm that a lie does, whether it is presented as news, or whispered as gossip. If someone lies to me and I catch it, trusting them in the future is almost impossible.

Today’s devotional gives reasons for being more interested in truth. Piper writes that God is truth. This makes lies a total affront to who He is, the triune God. Nothing can nullify His faithfulness and reliability:
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (Romans 3:3–4)
This Almighty God became flesh and His Son, who is the image of the Father, is glorified as truth: 
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)
And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. (Matthew 22:16)
Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The Apostle John saw Jesus glorified as faithful and true. He said, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war” (Revelation 19:11).

God also lives out the life of the Father and the Son to me in His Spirit, the Spirit of truth. As Jesus said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me.… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 15:26; 16:13a).

Before Jesus came into my life, every person that I trusted as friends lied to me . Was God allowing that so I would be eager to know Him, the reliable One who would never lie? Perhaps. I once wrote a long poem on how much truth matters. It is an important part of trust. If God makes a promise, believing it depends on being totally convinced that He speaks truth. He will do whatever He says He will do because He is truth. 

PRAY: I see how important truth is and why You have given me a great sensitivity to lies. One more reason is that the devil is a liar. You told those who refused to trust You, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) My heart craves truth in defiance of this enemy who wants to destroy my faith with his schemes. Thank You for being the truth and being my Savior from sin — and from lies.



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