Heart Tracks - Knowing The Truth

"Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, 'You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " John 8:32

I wonder; do we realize the difference between knowing truth, and knowing The Truth? Do we know the difference between being obedient because we should, and being obedient because we love? Do we follow a Christ we have large amounts of information about but little personal experience of? Do we have familiarity with who He is on paper, but no real intimacy with who He desires to be with and in us? Is our knowledge of Him centered in our minds, or in our hearts? Do we know the truth about Him, or do we know Him as Truth itself? How we answer such questions determines the reality of our relationship with Him. Is that relationship based in theory about Him, or intimate experience of Him?

For a very long time I saw John 8:32 as Jesus' declaration that He would show me what was true in this life, and what was not. And He does. But too many of us never get any deeper in Him than that. Jesus said that He meant for us to have "truth in our innermost being." This is truth, knowledge, that can only be ours through a deep, abiding life in Him. He doesn't just give us truth about life, He gives us the Truth of Himself in all of life. What grows out of this is wisdom, understanding, discernment. Traits that are sorely lacking in the Body these days. The Who sang the classic, "Won't Get Fooled Again," but we do. Again and again. There is only one "fool-proof" way.....knowing He who is Truth itself, for that Truth will then saturate our entire being.

When we gather in our fellowships, what is it that we encounter? Sermons that share facts about Him, or He who is Truth itself? We are not made to receive truth about Him that somehow works its way inward, but to receive Him as Truth and then allow that Truth to grow in us from the inside out. As it grows, it destroys all the strongholds (lies that pass themselves off as truth) in our hearts and minds. We then know Him as Truth, and that knowledge makes us free. Free from all the lies that have held us captive for so long.

John 8:32 is one of the most powerful statements Jesus ever made. Is the reality of that power, that truth, being worked out in our lives today? In your life today? We enter into this world under the power of a lie that says we have everything we need in ourselves. He who is Truth says we can only find that which we need, were created for, in Him. Do we know that Truth today? Not just as information, but experience? Pilate, thinking himself in control of everything, asked Jesus, "What is truth?" Truth was before him, but he couldn't see Him. A thief on a cross did, and received Him. He received Him who is Truth and was free, even on his cross. Pilate could tell you many things about Jesus that were true, yet he never knew Him as Truth. The thief likely could tell you little about Jesus and His life, yet he came to know Him as Truth. In our day to day walk and life with Him, who do we most resemble?

Blessings,
Pastor O