What Is Truth?

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To be honest, trying to answer the question about truth is one blog post is a bit too ambitious, so don't shout me down if you feel dissatisfied with my short answer. A common theme in society now is that truth is subjective and relative. The common thought that I've heard is, "I don't believe that there's a God. I just try to live a good life." This statement seems to be valid and reasonable, but it all falls apart when you ask someone to define goodness apart from God. No matter what words they use, the response you will get will eventually be confirmed to be a subjective view of truth.  Lacrae, a popular Christian rapper, succinctly sums up conundrum that people run into when they express this opinion:

"Somebody told me there was no such thing as truth I said, 'If that's the case then why should I believe you?'"

(As an added bonus, here's a link to the song that those lyrics come from:) [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_5hin5LYqU&w=560&h=315]

Discovering Truth

Truth, if it is to be called truth, cannot be subjective if it is to exist at all. It must be something that exists outside of all of us and is the standard by which we are all working to meet. As a Christian, I am compelled to give the most obvious answer I can give: Jesus is truth. I bet you saw that coming! Even though the answer is cliche, any other answer would be false. It would be incorrect to center our answer on anything or anyone but Jesus.

If he is to be believed - and I think he is - Jesus himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:6-7).

Here is why this is so important: Our lives will be centered around something, whether we intentionally choose it or not. It could be work, family, sex, video games, or friends. All of those shift and change like waves and will eventually shipwreck our lives. Truth must be external and everlasting to be meaningful. If we build our lives upon the truth that is Jesus, we will be solidly positioned and eternally unshaken. This extends to every area of our lives, whether interacting with family, fighting temptations, loving others, giving, working, and praying.

Today, I would challenge you to examine yourself to see if the truth you've centered your life around is external and everlasting. If it is not, I urge you to make the truth that is Jesus the center of your life. All you have to do is ask Jesus to make himself the center of your life and believe that he is there with you.

If you want to learn more about truth and Jesus, I would highly recommend these books:

Exploring TruthEverett Hilllies, Life, PrayerComment