FINDING THE TRUTH

 

 

 

Many are seeking but not finding. In fact, most people pride themselves on being seekers of the truth. However, few want the truth. Why not? We would rather think well of ourselves than to think accurately about ourselves, and this is painful. Consequently, people go to the psychologist, not for the truth but to think and feel better about themselves.

Therefore, our search is limited to what will make us feel good. I know this from personal experience. I was “searching,” but my investigation had been limited to finding God and truth within my own Jewish ethnicity. Jesus wasn’t even a consideration. I was setting the rules, and God had to conform to them. Consequently, my mind had been entirely closed to Him. He wasn’t even within sight.

 

I had prayed, but I didn’t even pray to know the truth until I was lying in a pool of blood, convinced that my next breath would be my last. Suddenly, I realized that God was with me. I didn’t know who He was, but I know that He loved me and would take care of me, even in death. This filled me with ecstasy, and I vowed to find out the truth of His identity. It was the only thing that mattered to me.

 

If we want the truth, we must value it above all else and seek it with all our being, wherever it may lead. This coincides with the Bible:

·       “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11–13)

 

Even though we claim that we are seeking the truth, our heart doesn’t want it. Dickens’ Great Expectations captures this reality. Pip had a secret benefactor who had been providing for all his needs. As a result, he became a fine gentleman and was awaiting the time when his benefactor would reveal himself in all his majesty. Pip had great expectations of glory. However, he was horrified to find that his benefactor was a lowly criminal.

 

We do not want the truth. Nicodemus, a member of the Israelite Sanhedrin, secretly visited Jesus. He suspected that Jesus was from God because of the many miracles He had been performing. However, he still had a long way to go:

·       Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

 

We cannot choose the Kingdom of God because it is not even on our radar. Instead, coming to Christ requires the Spirit to work in our hearts:

·       Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

 

We must be born of the Spirit. Well, what then can we do? We must pray that the Lord will open our heart and mind:

·       “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8)

 

·       Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:25–28)

 

We must pray that He would open our minds so that we can receive His truths:

 

·       And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

 

Without this, we continue to harden our minds to His truth. Consequently, there is no formula for learning the higher truths. I thank God that He revealed Himself to me as I was dying, and that has made all the difference.