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Be the Truth
Since time immemorial, man has always been searching for the meaning of truth. Interestingly, many are still asking the same question. Under the influence of post-modern thought and culture, truth today is no longer regarded as absolute but relative. The post-modern individual says, "Truth is what I make of it. Fine, if that works for you. But as for me, truth is this to me." With pluralism and the proliferation of religion (another consequence of post-modernism), everyone claims to have the Truth. And the Church is merely another alternative. Where the Church once led in educational and academic fields to be that voice of Truth, it is sadly no longer the authority today.
How then is the Church to respond? After all, does not the Church have the Truth in Jesus Christ? Are we not to communicate and to share this Truth with utmost fervour and passion? Yet, try as we might, many have come up against the proverbial brick wall of post-modern thought! How do we convince others that our Truth is really the Truth?
I suspect young Timothy faced the same challenges in his days. The apostle Paul warned him not to "give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification" (1 Tim 1:4) and not to engage in these useless discussions for it leads only to "idle talk". Paul tells Timothy: Instead of trying to prove the Truth, be the Truth! Yes, be the Truth! In the words of Paul, the Church is to be the pillar and ground of the Truth (1 Tim 3:15).
Think about this: It's one thing to talk about the Truth, and totally another to be the Truth. Perhaps, it is in our inconsistency that the Truth has suffered in credibility. By no means am I suggesting that we stop declaring the Truth. But I am strongly advocating it's time for Christians to live as the Truth that the Truth is not merely cognitively considered but experientially encountered. After all, to encounter Truth is to experience the Person of Jesus Christ for He is the Truth (Jn 14:6). Similarly, to be the Truth simply means to be like Jesus.
When this revelation captures our hearts, we will make it our topmost priority to be more and more like Jesus that we can become the Truth. In that relationship with Him who is Truth, we allow ourselves to be changed by the Spirit of Truth (Jn 16:13) that the same Truth can be revealed in and through us! I have realised how easy it is to impact lives when I am walking close to Jesus. Otherwise, arguments and statements of truth only leave me exasperated and the other party goes away frustrated. The reason is simple: It is the Truth that sets people free (Jn 8:32) - not the concept but the person - for whom the Son sets free is free indeed (Jn 8:36). The Truth and the Son are both one and the same entity!
The world has many options and variations of what they regard as truth. It is no longer enough for the Church to just declare she has the Truth. The Church must now be the Truth that others can encounter and acknowledge the Truth through each and every believer of Jesus Christ.
Be the Truth!
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