Freedom in the Truth
ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS
RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
If you're honest with yourself, then you'll readily admit
that the truth is something you're really not comfortable with. The truth will certainly
set you free, but in reality we find it easier to tell our version of the truth:
the truth from our perspective, the truth the way we think it ought to be. What
we forget is that truth ultimately is not a series of facts or a virtuous
concept. Truth ultimately is a Person: our Lord Jesus Christ. And since He is
Truth, to bend the truth is to sin against our Lord Jesus. The truth—our Lord
Jesus—really does make us free. But deep down we despise the truth. That's why
it's so difficult for us to tell the truth and to face the truth. Deep down we
hate the truth. That's why we work so hard to bend the truth—because, really,
we're trying to pull one over on Jesus. And we actually believe we're getting
away with something because we do not now see Truth in the flesh.
Yet Truth says, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”
How does He do that—especially when we firmly believe that no one really has
the full truth? The Spirit of Truth leads us into all truth first of all by
helping us to see and understand the truth about ourselves. And the whole truth
is that we are unworthy of the truth. And so the Spirit convicts us—the whole
world—of sin. And this is our sin—not just that we do things wrong, but that we
do not desire or hold firmly to Truth.
Yet our Lord, who is Truth, does not come to lead us to
despair, but to lead us to all truth. So once He helps us see the truth about
ourselves—once we admit that we are unworthy to stand in the light of the
Truth, and to stand before Truth Himself—then the Spirit preaches into our
hearts the truth of Our Lord's righteousness. And what is this Truth? The Lord
God blesses us and deals graciously with us because He is merciful and
compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. He embraces us
and wishes to draw us deeper and deeper into Himself, into the Truth He is, and
more so into the fellowship, friendship, and communion that is the Holy Blessed
Trinity.
The Spirit of Truth comes to persuade us to believe and take
to heart that Satan, the prince of this world, the father of lies, the enemy of
Truth and every true thing, is judged. His deadly reign is over. He can harm us
no longer. He's finished. The victory has been won by our Lord Jesus Christ,
and it has been delivered to us in the waters of Holy Baptism.
We have no need to fear the Truth. The truth is our ally, for
He allows us to live with Him, and He dwells within us. We have no need to run
from the Truth, for He invites us to walk in His footsteps. We have no need to
twist the Truth, or tell the version you think makes us look good. Take hold of
Him fully and love Him, even if it means you must suffer because of Him. For
when you suffer for the Truth, you partake more fully of the Lord's sufferings
and rejoice more joyfully in His victory.
Love the truth and abide in the truth, here at the altar and
at home in your prayers. Let your love of the truth extend to your brothers and
sisters in Christ and to everyone you meet. For the Spirit of truth leads you
not only to know and confess and experience communion in God, but also to
accept and live in communion with each other. Truth Himself has been given to
you and implanted within you by the Spirit of Truth. So forget your perspective
which only speaks what you want to hear. Forget your little white lies. Live in
the freedom, for the Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ, has made you free. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God
which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
always. Amen.
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