A Moment Aside for 28 October 2020

 

A Moment Aside ---- 28 October 2020

 

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.  (John 8: 32)

     Truth is something we want to hear and yet we don’t want to hear at the same time. There are times when the truth is frightening or disgusting or upsetting. In many cases, the truth is hard. However that may be, the truth is liberating. It frees us from preconcieved notions and from delusions, often notions and delusions we’ve grown comfortable with or even lean on. In that way, “the truth set you free, but first it will make you miserable.”

     We don’t like to hear things that make us uncomfortable, especially when we can do nothing to change those things. To hear that a beloved hero had “feet of clay” can leave us devastated. (cf. Daniel 2: 31-33, 41-43) To find out that a place is less than we expected to be can disappoint us so much we might not want to go back. To have medicine prescribed for us that we were surprised we needed can upset our thinking. Yet the truth all of these things, devastating, disappointing, or surprising as they might be, frees us from illusions and even some sort of debilitating pride.

     Truth in the area of faith is often hard to take. To say that all of us are sinners without comparison to others who might be “a greater sinner than I” carries with it the understanding that we cannot save ourselves and that sin can destroy us, even the little ones. (A pastor colleague told me once that when you’re drowning, it doesn’t matter if you’re 20 metres from the surface or one inch from the surface.) Our self-understanding and our desire to be independent really takes a hit from that. To realize that God loves others as much as God loves us and that they’re as special as we are can really cause a sort of misery… and yet it is the truth! And that truth frees us. Salvation is free and has no prerequisites for us… or anyone else. Salvation also leads us to act saved and live saved, that is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Do they deserve it? Well, ask yourself: “Do I deserve it?” Whatever your answer, you might feel some sort of misery and you’ll still be free.

     Maybe we can all deal with a little misery in our lives if it leads to the freedom of the truth.

{My apologies for my tardiness in getting this out to all of you. Some family health issues required my attention. All is well now or on its way to being well.}