Talk Tuesday-Hold On To The Truth

A new season is here. Fall has arrived. School has begun. Work is ever increasing and our responsibilities remain. Yet, the world we live in is changing. We hear of wars, rumors of wars, plagues, diseases, religious persecution and extremism at its most inhumane. We are told that Global Warming is destroying our planet. What will our world look like in 20 years from now? Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, Social Media is the new norm of communication, and we have begun to feel more self-reliant than ever.

As a teenager, I can remember reading Romans 1:21-25, and really wondering about verse 25. "21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1:21-25. I naively thought idolatry to be an outdated concept, and mused about what it could look like in the future. Fast forward 20 years later. In today's popular culture, I hear much talk of 'The Universe'. At first I was confused, until I realized that people were praying to 'The Universe', putting things out there into 'The Universe' and that 'The Universe' was responding by 'granting' them their wishes.

Here's another thing that puzzled me in my youth: the concluding verse in the Parable of the Persistent Widow from Luke 18:1-8. The parable tells of a widow who seeks justice from a judge who neither fears God nor man. Her persistence moves him to action, “...yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” Luke 18:5. Jesus uses this as teaching moment to remind us not to give up when we pray. “6 And the Lord said, 'Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” Luke 18:6-7. Why, then, does He ask such a haunting question afterwards? “8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?'” Luke 18:8.

In a season when the earth is groaning, times are changing, evil seems to be prevailing, and darkness seems impending, HOLD ON TO THE TRUTH. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. An exchange between Pontius Pilate and Jesus about truth goes like this: 

"36 Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.' 37 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.' 38 'What is truth?' retorted Pilate." John 18:36-38.

Here is a summary of TRUTH; The Apostles' Creed.

I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.