We gird our loins in the truth, or with the truth, by grounding our lives in Jesus. This is a major reason why we recently studied the Gospel of John from start to finish, so that we could get to know Jesus. What did you learn about Jesus in John? How is that changing how you are living?
This is why we spend time studying God’s word in sermons, in classes, in small groups, and on our own. God reveals himself in truth in his word.
I know that studying the Bible and applying it to our lives can be difficult. Not to mention that people can read the same Bible and come to very different conclusions about how to interpret it. Where’s the truth in that? If God’s word is a source of truth, then shouldn’t it be so obvious that all people agree on it? If only it were that simple.
This is why I blogged a few weeks ago on how to interact with people (six posts starting here), especially Christian people, with whom you disagree. In our church family, we have disagreements about how to interpret the Bible. About what is the truth.
But we don’t need to have total uniformity about what is truth. We do need unity, however. We need to major on the majors and minor on the minors.
That might feel uncomfortable for some of us. Some of us can feel unsettled about the reality that truth is sometimes murky or debated. But we need to face that reality. We have differences of opinions about truth, and that is okay.
That opens the door for us to dabble a bit in the philosophy of truth. Have you heard that we live in a day and age when absolute truth is being eroded? It is often said that we live in a postmodern era during which the concept of truth is under attack.
In the modern era and long before, it is said, there was a bedrock of absolute truth that nearly everyone agreed on. Absolutes such as God exists. God created male and female. Humanity is sinful.
Those who say that truth is under attack suggest that now in our increasingly secular age more and more people are believing whatever they want. There are no absolutes. Each person can decide what is true for them. But is that correct?
It seems likely that this erosion of truth is happening to some degree or another. In life, it seems that there are some foundations. I am totally okay with the concept of mystery. I think we need a healthy dose of mystery to keep us humble. But I also believe that the concept of truth means that there are foundational truths that we can and should live by.
Paul is saying the same thing. We ground ourselves in the truth of Jesus. The truth about Jesus is the steel that girds our entire existence.
Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 