"What is truth?" - Pontius Pilate asked that of Jesus right before the crucifixion. (John 18)
Years ago I heard a pastor speak on this passage and it has replayed in my heart ever since. I have had a yearning to understand more of the truth. To know what is truth, one has to look to the standard of truth. In fact, the Lord gave me "truth" as my "word" upon which to meditate this year.
Scripture teaches us where that truth lies. However, now, more than ever, in our "Information Age" information is easily accessible that can give an abundance of knowledge, but is it really truth? It is easy to believe something without finding out if it is actually true or not. Knowledge can have a small amount of truth but be filled with lies. And we are all susceptible to falling for it. When the world touts that it's "all about YOU" it is easy to get pulled into lies that lead us further from the truth. We want to know the truth, but too often we want it to be OUR truth.
Isn't that what happened in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve? They believed the serpent who said to them, "Did God really say....?" The truth was twisted ever so slightly. Adam and Eve, who had a full and perfect relationship with their Creator, began to fall for the lie that they could know more than their Creator. They could be their own truth. They were in charge of knowing what was right and wrong based on what they felt at the time.
We see it today all around us. Influencers, social media, the news - they all have a basis for "their" truth.
So back to my original question: "What is truth?"
As I have searched the Scriptures alongside the views of what those in the world's system think, I have repeatedly been shown that truth is only found in the Lord. The world is "very loud" with all its opinions and descriptions that "my truth isn't your truth and your truth isn't my truth."
Am I listening and seeking what the world's confusion and constant changing tells me or am I seeking truth from the Standard that never changes?
Truth cannot be what I think, feel, say, or do. It cannot be what the latest influencer is touting. It cannot be what the modern philosophers view as truth. Truth must be based on a standard that never changes because if your truth is not my truth, then how will we ever know what is truth? Humans are not autonomous - we did not create ourselves nor will we ever be greater than our Creator. How often do we say to God, just like the serpent in the Garden - "Did God really say?..." We want control. We want our own truth.
God in His love, gave us His Word which has been preserved for thousands of years. The truth of what it says today is what He spoke to be written by 40 different authors over 1,500 years. Search it out. It is possible to understand and know that God's Truth is THE Truth.
The Lord gave me this verse from Psalm 86:11 on which to meditate this year:
Psalm 86:11 CSB - "Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear [respect] your name."
Satan wants to divide now just as much as he did in the Garden. He wants our minds to be in so many different places, hearing so many different ideas and thoughts, that we can become overwhelmed and feel as if we can never know what is truth.
The Lord unites us with His truth and when we study His Word and live by HIS truth, we will find that the confusion settles and our minds can fully comprehend how He has loved us and provided a way for us to know Him.
Your truth and my truth will never matter in the view of eternity. What is searched for in this fallen world cannot provide what we desperately need.
Search the Scriptures - for in them you will find life, stability, peace, and TRUTH.