In the business of our lives, in our daily pursuits it is good for us to take time to think about what it is we are pursuing and why we are pursuing it. Think about all the things people pursue – degrees, positions, prestige, trophies and awards, career satisfaction, justice, peace and finally, relationship. Far too often people put the pursuit of relationship in last place.
I titled an earlier post “Worshipping the Living God in Lent” In John’s Gospel, Chapter 4:21-26 Jesus reveals himself as The Messiah to a woman and tells her that God the Father desires and seeks people to worship in truth. How can people do this if they don’t know anything about ‘the truth’ that Jesus is talking about?
Repentance isn’t only about ceasing to sin; Repentance is about relationship and more specifically – it’s about seeking an eternal relationship with God. The truth is that when we are in a loving relationship with God we can stop sinning.
One of the things I believe it’s important for us to know about Jesus is that he often taught in parables, story telling style of teaching. Some people didn’t understand everything Jesus was saying and on occasion we read of people who chose to seek understanding by having conversations with him about what he was saying, in this way they were seeking ‘the truth’ about what Jesus meant. Like the man who asked about being reborn – How can a grown man crawl back into his mother’s womb, he asked Jesus. Jesus was able to talk to him about being reborn in the Spirit. Their encounter is recorded in Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel.
In the Gospels there are references to the Spirit of Truth. When we are filled with the truth as Jesus was, we are filled with the Spirit of Truth.
Many people are familiar with the phrase – ‘The Truth Will Set You Free” – how many know this phrase is a quotation from the Bible? It is – and the full quotation is found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verse 32:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus is having a conversation with some people about the importance of holding to his teaching and being set free from sin, not free to live however we want without regards to God’s will or the welfare of other people. The main focus of Jesus’ teaching is that of teaching us how to love God and each other.
How often are we concerned with seeking ‘the truth’ about someone’s life and what that pursuit is about is trying to find the ‘dirt’ – some people make professions out of ruining people’s reputations and destroying families by revealing whatever damaging gossip they can dig up. How much better their time could be spent seeking the Spirit of Truth and looking for evidence of that. You see, when people repent and find the truth – they no longer live like they did in the past so digging up their past sin is more an act of untruth than of truth.
Yes, the Spirit of Truth does convict people of their sin – but the motivation of the Spirit of Truth working through Jesus isn’t to tear down the person – it’s to call them to repentance and empower and equip them to overcome the sin in their lives. What if the people who want to gossip and reveal sin in other people’s lives spent more time asking the Spirit of Truth to help them rid their own lives of sin? They would, in truth, be taking the log out of their own eye.
That’s what a Lenten season based on repentance is about, taking a look at what we need to change in our own lives, seeking the Spirit of Truth to speak to us about our relationship with God, self and other people.
In John’s Gospel, Chapter 14, we read about a conversation Jesus had with his disciples prior to his death. When Jesus told his disciples that he was going to his Father’s eternal house, he told them they knew the way to the place he was going. Thomas had some questions about that and Jesus told him it would be ok because Thomas knew him and then said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
Lord, give us a desire to seek and set aside more time in our lives to follow you and your way as the Truth that gives us lives that are strong enough to overcome sin and live in love. Lord, please give us and other people your Spirit of Truth. AMEN
