The Love of Truth

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:7-10)

A few years ago, a friend asked me the best question I’ve ever been asked:

“If you could know for sure that what you believe about God is true or not, would you want to know?”

My gut reaction was “No. What I believe about God is so good, I wouldn’t want to know if it weren’t true. I’d rather go on believing what I want to be true.” Over the next few days and weeks, that answer bothered me more and more. I thought I loved the truth. But, apparently, there was something I loved even more — what I wanted to be true. I decided that I didn’t want to live that way anymore. I changed my attitude toward truth.

Now I strive to love truth more than anything else. I want to know the truth — about God and everything else — whatever it is. Whatever it is, I want to know it. Whatever it is, I want to love it more than anything else.

The One Who Is Truth

Here’s why truth matters more than anything else. Truth is freedom. Truth is life. Ultimately, truth is Someone — the Creator and Lord of all.

• “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
• “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
• “… the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:6)
• “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life … .” (John 14:6)

The Father of Lies

The devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)

We’re being lied to. We should be outraged and fight it for all we’re worth.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

As he did from the start, the devil still seeks to undermine God’s Word and our trust in God. God had said that mistrustful rebellion against Him would lead to death. The devil aims to trick us into believing that this death that God warned us about is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, death is really a promotion. So, the devil says, God is just a jerk who’s trying to keep us from being elevated to this higher plane.

Truth Will Out

Truth is reality. It’s all realities and the highest reality — God Himself. As time goes on, the universe’s knowledge of good and evil matures. Lies are increasingly exposed. Truth is increasingly revealed. “At the length, truth will out.” Reality cannot be denied forever.

Detachment from reality is destructive; it leads only to death. I want to be be completely submerged in the truth. I want to speak it. I want to live it. I want to know the truth, whatever it is. I love the truth. And, I invite you to answer the same life-changing question I was asked:

If you could know for sure that what you believe about God is true or not, would you want to know?

And, it’s worth asking the question in a general sense:

If you could know for sure that what you believe is true or not, would you want to know?

If your answer today is No or I’m not sure, that’s okay. That’s where I was for a long time. The main thing is that we actively cultivate a love of truth.

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© All rights reserved • Elizabeth Whitworth