April 15, 2008...9:48 am
Walking Truth
By now many people are aware that in this age dubbed “Postmodern” there has been a great struggle with the truth. Some within the broader culture have suggested everything is relative and that there is no absolute truth. Christians, quite naturally, have recoiled at the idea believing that God and His word provide truth that is absolute for all time. I believe that this is true, but I understand why there is a sense of relativism within our culture. I also know that simply telling people that “The Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it” will not work in this relativistic age.
While flying to Kauai for a wedding a few weeks ago I encountered a woman in the airport who had her two young children in tow. She saw that I was reading a Christian book and asked me if it was good. This started a conversation about God, Jesus, and church. This woman has a real heart for God and is desperately searching to know him and his will for her and her children. But she reads her Bible and finds herself a little confused. Then she studies with different religious groups and the confusion is increased. She is struggling to understand the truth.
This difficulty for her, and so many others, is only the tip of the ice berg. Suppose she did not assume that God is revealed in the scriptures we know as the Bible. Suppose she was trying to find God in all of the myriad of religions available to her? She might set out to study the major world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. But the search goes far beyond this to other groups such as Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, modern Paganism, and a variety of what Christians call “Cults”. Her difficulty does not end there. Each group, like Christianity, has its own “Denominations” that provide a little different flavor to that particular religion.
How long, do you suppose, will it take her to read all of the books of these religions? Since she is having trouble understanding the Bible, we can assume that she will have trouble with the texts of the other religions. So she will not only try to read all of these texts, but she will also try to talk to all of the different gurus, Imams, Ministers, Priests, and Rabbis of the different religions to get their slant on the texts. Just how long will this take her? How can one ever know the truth in this age of mass information?
This situation is not unlike that of the first century. There were many religious and philosophical ideas in the wind then just as there are now. And Christianity was by far from being the dominant voice. So why would someone want to give their lives to this fellow who was executed by the Romans and was supposedly raised again? Why should this claim to “Truth” hold any more sway over their lives than the other offerings?
One of the answers in the first century is that Christianity had a power greater than all the other offerings. One only needs to read the book of Acts to see this. The Holy Spirit was playing an active role in the lives of believers. But there was another reason that many found the story of Jesus to be true. Because it was true in the lives of those who became followers of Jesus. This topic is addressed by the apostle Peter in his first letter.
Slaves are called upon to emulate Jesus (2:18ff). Wives are encouraged to play the role of a dutiful wife to unbelieving husbands in hopes of winning them over (3:1). While being ready to give an answer for their faith, Christians are called upon to do so with gentleness and respect (3:15). Peter encourages those who follow Jesus to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (2:12 – NIV).
In other words, lives that are changed by Jesus to become more like Jesus speak a certain truth in a relativistic world. As I am often heard to say, “Christianity is only true as it is true in the lives of believers”. If we speak one thing but live another, those around us will see right through our supposed truth. They will hear us claim to have truth, but will be able to see that we really don’t believe it ourselves. In their minds what that means is that it is not really true.
If God has overcome the power of sin in the death and resurrection of Jesus; if God has changed the world in that event; if God is changing lives by His Spirit, as Christians claim, then this should be evident in the lives of these Christians. If this is so, Christians become a walking testimony to the truth of what God has done and what God is doing in the world and in the lives of people. Thus, in some sense, we who are followers of Jesus are the walking truth. Or, as has often been stated, you may be the only Bible someone ever reads.
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