The Power of Truth

Take two children, raised in the same small town, exposed to the same cultural influences, the same education, the same social circles.  One grows to a genuinely trusting faith in Jesus Christ.  He stays morally pure, seeks always to honor God, shares the story of Jesus with others, gives generously in a variety of ways, is faithful to his wife and raises children in the fear of the Lord.

The other child rejects Jesus and jumps from atheistic philosophies to agnostic ambivalence to cult fascinations.  He wanders in and out of countless superficial romantic relationships, is sexually promiscuous, is consistently given to abuse of an array of substances, lies to maintain the appearance of integrity, betrays numerous friendships, and is bitter about life and people in general.

How do two people from such similar origins take such divergent paths in life?  The classic debate over "nature or nurture" seems to be lop-sided toward "nature" in such instances.

Conversely, it is hard to ignore the evidence of those who are "nurtured" in similar circumstances and develop parallel world view and life behaviors.  The mind and soul, therefore, must be more like a blank slate than a pre-programmed machine.

Wherein, then, is the power of truth?  If the resultant heart and life of a person is truly impossible to predict - either because "nature" overrides "nurture, or because each one can, with complete objectivity, choose what to believe - then is the playing field for truth and error truly level?

A God-created tension exists between the freewill of man and the convincing power of truth.  Scripture resounds with the power of God's Word to create, to execute judgment, to woo and to convict.  But Scripture also records the timeless stories of individuals who seem impervious to the piercing sting of truth.

Do bearers of the truth have an edge over purveyors of falsehood?  Or is the success of either merely abdicated to the whim of the listener?

One could argue that truth has the upper hand simply because God has deemed truth to have greater power, but the power of truth is more inherent than dictated.  Truth is the presentation of reality.  Falsehood begins the battle for minds with the handicap of disconnection.  Only those willing to live in the realm of fantasy willingly receive falsehood as reality.

The power of truth becomes most effective when the realm of fantasy in which the listener lives is reconstructed, and a context for hearing reality is established.  The world of Bugs Bunny, Santa Claus and monsters under the bed (so to speak) must be discredited so that the deceived person can place their feet on the soil of Earth in 2008.

This transition must be embraced, as well, by those of us who follow Jesus Christ.  We must be rooted in the realities of our world as it is, not simply as we desire it to be or as we perceived it to be in the past.  This can be tricky business.  Assumptions about the "Christian" nature of our nation or world can be dangerous.  Jesus understood well that, though immersed in a Jewish world, understandings about the Kingdom were widely disparate and often misguided.  As followers of Jesus seek to see clearly and help others see clearly, truth can transform life.

Truth is light - light that opens the eyes to the way things really are and to the direction that God is moving.  As we pray and faithfully tell God's story, He will illuminate the darkness and restore sight to the blind.  Then we can see things as they are, then tell them as they are.