We live in an age in which truth has come to be defined by personal preferences. Each person, it seems, has his or her own “truth.” What is true for you does not have to be true for me, and vice versa. We are all “free” to discover who we are and what we stand for, as long as who we are and what we stand for does not impose itself on anyone else. There is no such thing, in our day and age, as absolute truth. There is no truth, in other words, which can be true for everyone. But even that statement presents itself as an absolute truth, and leaves its imprint on the life of those who rub up against it.
Of course, such a belief – that there is no such thing as absolute truth – leaves us with a Godless world, because God is the absolute essence of truth. He was truth in human form, when He came to dwell among us as the Christ, and He is now truth in Spirit form, as the sovereign Creator and ruler of the universe. But for those who do not accept His authority, He is regarded as less than absolute…as merely an option or a personal choice.
We have to understand this, because God Himself created us with the capacity to choose for ourselves what we will love, what we will worship, and what we will be defined by. What we don’t often understand, however, is that He never meant for us to know or to choose what would define us outside of His love and His truth. He never intended for us to choose a “truth” that was rooted in the absence of absolute truth. He intended for us to be so satisfied by His presence, and so trusting of His perfection, that the option of another “truth” would never be a real option.
That plan, of course, was ruined by the slick and tantalizing lure of deception, empowered by the Godless heart in us that can’t help but long for what promises to be better than what we know. So God, in His gracious and eternally loving way, dealt with both of those problems. He sent Jesus so that, by His death, the power of darkness to lure us into deception was destroyed. And by His resurrection, the Godless heart in us could be exchanged for a new heart – with new desires that only long for and believe in what He has promised would fulfill us.
Ah, the beauty of new beginnings!
So, theoretically, this should mean – if we are living from the heart which Jesus gave us – that we are rooted and grounded in His love and in the truth of Who He is and Who We are because of Him. And that should mean that our lives – and our choices – are defined very much by absolute truth. Shouldn’t it?
But when we look around – even within our own hearts, we often see the marks of something less than truth. We often see deception, and all that comes with it: confusion, uncertainty, lack of integrity, lack of clear identity. Something is missing, and if we are to live as we’ve been set free to live, then we must find the disconnect. We must search out the truth that was always meant to define us, and we must yield to it.
In Proverbs 8, the Passion Translation quotes the voice of Wisdom:
“I’m calling to you, sons of Adam, yes, and to you daughters as well. Listen to me and you will be prudent and wise. For even the foolish and feeble can receive an understanding heart that will change their inner being. The meaning of my words will release within you revelation for you to reign in life. My lyrics will empower you to live by what is right.
For everything I say is unquestionably true, and I refuse to endure the lies of lawlessness – my words will never lead you astray. All the declarations of my mouth can be trusted; they contain no twisted logic or perversion of the truth. All my words are clear and straightforward to everyone who possesses spiritual understanding.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Jesus is the wisdom of God. So it is actually Jesus calling to us from the passage above, drawing us into a life of truth. That truth is rooted in His Word which, He says, is unquestionably true.
This presents you and I – and all who read His Word – with a choice: our truth will either be defined by His truth (His Word), which is absolute; or our truth will be defined by personal preference and experience, which changes with the seasons and circumstances we go through. Only one of these choices, according to the Word of God, will lead us to live without deception and devastation. Only one of these choices will lead us to a life that is rooted in power and integrity. Only one of these choices will lead us away from perversion and uncertainty, and into the wealth of the promises of God.
In other words, there is, in fact, a path of absolute truth. There is, in fact, something which we can count on to never change. It is the Word and the person of Jesus. And when we build our lives upon His Word, in relationship with Him, our lives will become dramatically different than what the world has seen thus far of humanity.
There are two things that strike me the most about this passage, and I hope they will provoke you to examine your own heart a little deeper today, with me.
First of all, God here promises that His Words are unquestionably true, and can all be trusted. I don’t have to question or try to find the hidden meaning behind any of them. As I seek Him for understanding, in faith, He will give it to me. He will help me to see, and therefore believe. Dear Woman of Breakthrough, do you have such a childlike faith in God and in His Word – in His absolute truth? Are you able to believe every Word He says, or do you subject His unchanging truth to the ever-changing circumstances and experience of your life? I long for a pure faith that believes every Word He speaks, don’t you? Because this is how we were created to live. How simple and beautiful would our lives be if this were so!
It also strikes me that God says He will not endure the lies of lawlessness. Translation: He will not put up with the lies that empower our rebellion. Did you know, dear Woman of Breakthrough, that all rebellion against God – all choices to live in a way other than He created us to live – is/are rooted in a lie against the truth of God and His Word? At the root of all our misery and confusion is unbelief in what God says is true, and Who God says He is. Think about it – it’s the conversation from the garden retold a thousand new and different ways. But it’s still the same story: we can have something other than God and the truth He has offered us, and that something promises to be better, somehow. But it’s always a lie, and it always lands us in trouble – in disillusionment and despair.
Dear Woman of Breakthrough, are you believing any lies today which have caused you to question the simple and absolute – the unchangeable Word and nature of the God Who created you? If so, stop agreeing with and thus empowering those lies, and align your heart once again with the unquestionable truth of God, with His life-changing Wisdom. It is time for us to walk as women of Wisdom, who reign in life with our Creator. But it can only happen as we choose to believe the truth!
She Dances Over Graves 