The evening was dark, and candle flames flickered in the upper room. Jesus, the rabbi, and His closest followers sat huddled around a table. Judas had already left the table to “do quickly” what he was planning to do (betray Jesus). Jesus taught His disciples for a little while longer, and the night grew darker. As He finished the lesson, He looked up to heaven and prayed for his disciples:
“I have given them thy word…Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
He finished praying, and they departed for His arrest.
One of the last things He taught during His earthly ministry was that God’s Truth (i.e. the Bible) would be the thing that God would use to sanctify us.
God offers His truth in His Word, and when people realize that they can obtain that truth and wisdom, the excited fervor that overwhelms them is uncontrollable. This explains the explosion of Christianity across Asia and Europe in the first several centuries following Christ’s incarnation. This hunger for truth explains why the access to truth spread the Reformation like wildfire through Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s.
Truth liberates. Truth invigorates. Truth offers hope. Truth offers direction. Truth melts frustration and confusion.
When we get to Nehemiah 8, we see that the wall had been completed, and the people desired to hear the Truth of God. Ezra the scribe mounted a wooden pulpit to fulfill this task. I can imagine the excitement of the people as they huddled in little family groups to hear the proclamation of God’s word. They must have been filled with hope and joy as they were preparing to hear the words that were from the very mouth of God.
We too have God’s truth. It is contained in the library of books we call our Bible. Page after page, book after book, God has laid out His soul-feeding, life-giving, hope-breathing truth.
With intentionality, and excitement, let us dive into the truth that God has given us. Let us learn of His character. Let us breath in the truth of His gospel. Let us engulf ourselves in the mind-settling theology of His word.
Food For Thought: Read John 8:31-36. What does Jesus say the truth will do to those who obtain it?
No comments:
Post a Comment