I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. (Psalm 119:147)
You got to love those friends who know you well enough to tell you the truth. My golf partner, Gary, always has a way of telling it like it is. I tell him, “I think I should hit this putt at the right lip.” He says, “I would agree with you, but then we would both be wrong.” Another time, I asked him if my backswing was too fast. He responded, “I don’t know. I can’t see it.”
It doesn’t stop there. Years ago, I yelled at my caddy in frustration and shouted, “You have got to be the worst caddy on the PGA Tour!” Gary just looked at me and said, “I don’t think so. That would be too much of a coincidence.” *Smile*
Now, what about real choices as to what and to whom do you believe? Some of these choices can make an eternal difference. Today, there is so much misinformation on the Internet and in some churches. There has to be an absolute truth out there. People who say there is no absolute truth have, in fact, made an absolute truth statement.
There are so many religions in the world today that claim totally opposite facts. Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6, ESV). Others say there are many ways to God and that Jesus was just a good teacher and man like us. These two opposite statements cannot be both true. They can both be wrong, but both cannot be true.
Men will fail us. Slick talkers may mislead. So, how do we know who and what to believe? God never withholds from us when we cry to Him for answers. So we can pray, “Dear God, please help me know what is truth. I desperately need Your wisdom and understanding.” The Holy Spirit continues to do amazing work in providing ultimate answers for honest seekers all over the world.
Winston Churchill once said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” Truth has always been and always will be. It doesn’t change. What is true is not new, and what is new is not true. There is no contradiction there, only comfort in knowing God knows. One may say that they do not believe in God, but God still believes in them. God’s truth will not change, but it can change everything! It is almost impossible to understand that God has given us this choice. The most critical choice we will ever make in this life is understanding that Jesus dying on the Cross for us is absolute truth.
Charles Colson was a hard-driving attorney who served as Special Counsel to President Nixon from 1970 to 1973. He was appropriately named Nixon’s “hatchet man” during the Watergate scandal. He sat in the driveway of a friend’s home one night and cried out to God to know the truth of Jesus. He received the answer and started Prison Fellowship in 1976, which has shared the absolute truth with and changed the lives of many incarcerated men. He once said in his book, The Body, “But there is a crucial distinction here. The church must never confuse technique with truth. Time changes, truth doesn’t. What was orthodox 19 centuries ago is orthodox today. The church stands or falls on its adherence to Scripture and its historic confessions. They may offend, but the scandal of the cross has always offended.”
Ask. Listen. I know God wants to reveal absolute truth to all. We have to make a choice.