Truth Mangled

 “ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,” Eph.6:14

Truth…is anything being trampled on today more than truth? I listen to a doctor in an interview before Congress report that a man can have a baby…can get pregnant. He says it with a straight face…to the point I think he is even beginning to believe the lie he is telling us. I am not going to get into the weeds but let’s be clear here, truth is being trampled and buried and Paul writes to us and says put on the belt of truth…to be able to stand. And please don’t anyone give me the that is your truth but this my truth story…weak at best.  As I spoke about this at church, Holy Spirit gave me the image of Jesus standing in front of Pilate, the pagan ruler. Remember Pilate’s question to Jesus, he kind of spits it out in contempt. “What is truth?” John 18:38 

Stop for a moment to meditate on the scene. Jesus has already been beaten by the religious leaders…beard pulled out, spit on, bruised and bleeding, Jesus stands there and hears the words, “What is truth?” I do wonder why Jesus did not respond to Pilate right then…He could have simply said, “I am.” Truth was inches away for Pilate, covered in spittle and blood and heading to even more torture, as if that could stop truth. Jesus told HIs followers that He was the Truth, Truth is a person. He stayed quiet and let the beating go on…as I re-read the story and let it settle in I realized Holy Spirit was reminding me that this is what a fallen world does to truth. It tries to beat truth into submission, telling lies about it, distorting it, shredding it until it can be difficult to recognize it. The story goes on with Jesus going to the cross and the cry of the religious and the fallen world is to crucify truth because if truth dies we can go on living in our lies. Can you hear the nails being driven into truth? The groaning as the soldiers lift the post up to drop into a hole, jarring bones and tearing flesh. You can almost hear the father of lies gloating that finally he has killed truth. 

The stone rolled over the cover of the tomb…truth has died. But has it? The evil one did not understand eternal life or resurrection, he had no space for truth. And truth rises to overcome evil…the season we live in culture believes it is killing truth again. Angry voices still cry out to crucify truth…and Paul says to strap truth on as a belt so that in these days we can stand…we do not fight flesh and blood…never, but we stand against the one who lies and when he lies he is speaking his native tongue. 

The images of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and Pilate are brutal images and yet I cannot take my eyes off them. I can get a little disheartened as I listen to fallen culture rage but then I remember this…yes truth is bloodied and yes it can seem like truth is being overcome by lies…but Truth is a person who so loved this world that He died for it. The same world that was ugly enough to crucify a sinless man, the same world that has lost its bearing concerning truth…is the same world He died for…Truth lives and because He lives…I can face tomorrow. Jesus prayed for us like this; Sanctify them by[a] the truth; your word is truth.  John 17:17   I cannot shake the images of Truth being crucified and beaten…I don’t want to…