Based on John 8:31-47 (New King James Version)
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ‘I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.’”
What makes the truth, true? In our society today, it is taught that truth is relative. In other words, that what might be true to one person may not be true for someone else; that the truth is based on a point of view. This is clearly not a new concept. All of the great philosophers of antiquity believed something similar, those of which who proposed certain theories on truth, because they also did not believe in an absolute truth.
There also exists the idea that all religions can lead you to the same God, and there are many that believe this. For example, there are many that might say, “Allah, Jehovah, and Buda are the same deity, and that different people just use different names for him.” But the idea is that, if we follow faithfully whichever one of them, you will get to the same place, because in the end, it’s the same person.
Now, a religious relativism has also been created; in other words, people that have joined together the idea of how truth is defined (like we saw a moment ago) with the idea that all religions take you to the same place. For example, if you are a person that believes in a god, and that suits you, then keep on believing that. And if you are person that believes in many gods, and that’s what does it for you, then also, keep going. In the end, if a person feels good with what they believe, then that is their preference, and that’s fine because reality is defined by a person’s beliefs. And well, there are all kinds of other ideas for all kinds of people.
The issue is that, if you define the truth as the truth, then there can only be one truth. It’s just like the idea of perfection, that there cannot be multiple versions of the same perfection. The big problem with the ideas that were mentioned before is that our opinion does not define reality. Reality is not relative because reality is something that does not depend on us. For example, if I decided that gravity does not exist on this planet, that doesn’t mean that gravity ceases to exist. So then, if I jump from a plane without any kind of parachute, I might feel like I’m flying during the time of my descent. But, the reality is that I’m falling at an approximate rate of 122 mi/hr. (195 km/h). And no matter how much I want to believe that gravity doesn’t exist, I’m going to find out really quick that it does exist, when my body hits the ground at that speed. And if that moment occurs, I will be able to confirm very quickly that God does in fact exist. So then, if the truth is true, and it’s something that is beyond us, that it does not depend on us, but rather, on something greater, then logic would dictate that our opinion cannot define reality. We need to look for something or someone that is greater than us.
Now then, the Lord said that He was the truth, and that He would set us free. I know that this is something that is ultra-defined, and many people don’t like that, or at least, find it hard to believe; but the source should be considered. A logical person should at least weigh everything the Lord did. He healed incurable diseases, did miracles never seen before, raised the dead, etc., etc. And as a demonstration of His love, He died for all of us, so that we could have eternal life. But not only did He die, but He was also raised from the dead; because His tomb is empty. There are irrefutable historical facts that speak about this truth or reality. No one has been able to do the things the Lord did here on earth.
The other point we should bear in mind is that, the Lord’s reality transcends time. In other words, it keeps on being true today. And the way it keeps on being a reality in us (not because we define it) is when you try to follow the path He shows us through His Word. If a group of people truly have the Lord in their lives, and that same group of people tries to follow faithfully what He taught, there will be a unity that transcends races, languages, distances, and anything else that can exist. The Word teaches us this: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3. The Lord also said this: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:20-21. So then, if we follow the same Lord, and we try to do the things He taught us, there will be an unalterable unity because of an affinity that exists that is based on both the Spirit and the Word of God.
Jesus and His Word are the Truth. So then, have you known the Truth of God that can make you free and create an unbreakable affinity with Him and with those that follow Him faithfully? Lord bless! John