This paraphrase of John 17:17 was spoken by non-other than the one who is universally regard as the greatest teacher the world has ever known, Jesus Christ. There are reasons why He is regarded this way. Because this is so, surely what He is saying is well worth considering. In particular because of who He is we should check out His claim that His Word (the Bible) is indeed very Truth. The Words of which He speaks, give both a challenge and an invitation as to how to enter in and to live the abundant life. In particular, there are amazing promises which if true are worth claiming (and they are true). There are promises of wisdom when we lack it, promises of love and peace and hope and joy, promises of a different kind of freedom (not the kind that enslaves us see below). We are invited to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) i.e. give it a try. Into a World that is busy, busy , busy we are invited to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). There is promise of peace and soul rest to the burdened and heavy laden (Matthew 11:27-29).
The challenge is to absolute surrender, for as with 12 step programs, “half measures profited us nothing.” The promise though is that with such surrender comes the proof that God's ways are “good and perfect” (Romans 12:1,2). The promises are for the here and now (life in all its fullness – John 10:10), and the retirement benefits are out of this world (everlasting life John 3:16) :). The confirmation in the here and now comes after we “walk in the way” (see Isaiah 30:21), not before. This involves a step of faith, a choice to trust and follow.
One mistake that some people make, is they think they have to wait until they get all cleaned up before they come. We come, and I came “just as I am”. Jesus came not for those who are all cleaned up, but to call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). Prostitutes and despised tax collectors heard Him gladly, and they left all to follow Him (Matthew 9:9). When we do this, He gives us in His timing, the wherewithal to do and to be all that He desires for us to do and to be. He is for us, not against us, and His desires for us are good and right and proper. What is more, His ways are smart! It is an amazing thing to be free of guilt and shame, to be clean before the Lord! Salvation is free, but to enter fully into the life He desires for us, will cost us everything we have. It is worth it. The burly fishermen who followed Jesus knew this. When some of the hard saying of Jesus prompted many to turn back, Jesus asked His disciples (His followers), “Will you too go away?” Peter answered “Where shall we go, You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
After you have tasted that the Lord is good, the shallow pleasures of sin that do not last, no longer even begin to satisfy. They leave us empty and unfulfilled even while we struggle to escape them (Isaiah 55:2). When through our surrender we enter into cooperation with God (God's help, self help), He uses His Word (Bible help), to bring healing and wholeness and a life worth living. Eternal life (fullness of life) is both in the hear and now, and in the life everlasting (Luke 18:39). John tells us the very reason for his writing is that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).
What I am saying here is for me, not just theory, it is a description of my journey. While I have not by any means arrived, I am not what I once was. Also I did not always believe what I now believe about the Bible. I was drawn more and more into it as I read and obeyed. This is key. Faith and obedience are not unrelated. In the beginning as I read I saw more and more that “This book knows me, knows us”. It tells us the truth about the human condition. It shows us how we got into the mess we are in, and better, it shows us how, with God's help and His Truth, we can to reclaim our lives. I want to close this post with just a few examples of what I have learned about the Bible and Truth.
The Bible tells us the truth about our ability to fool ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9), about what lies behind what Psychology is calling denial and rationalization. The Bible tells us that we suppress the Truth in and through the choices we make, and the things we do (Romans 1:18). The Bible tells us the truth about how bitterness and revengeful thinking poisons us and those we love (see January 27th's post). The Bible tells us the truth about how just one poor choice can lead over time to utter chaos (read Genesis). The Bible tells us the truth that as part of this we turn right and wrong on its head to our destruction (Isaiah 5: 20). The Bible tells us the truth that what it calls sin enslaves us (see “The freedom that enslaves” August 2010). The Bible tells us the truth that spiritual things are foolishness to the World (I Corinthians 1:18). The Bible tells us the truth that the pleasures of sin do not last. They are fleeting and finish up being destructive (Hebrews 11:25). In particular the Bible tells us the truth that all forms of sexuality other than one man one woman in life long monogamous are destructive to those who practice them (1 Corinthians 6:18). The Bible tells us the truth that those who resist its Truth will hate and persecute those who receive and rejoice in it (John 15:18). Finally the Bible tells us the truth that as long as we still have breath, it is not too late to turn to Him and be saved. His Word is Truth. It is Truth indeed!
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