AT ANCHOR

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES
by Sally Bair

Whom Can We Believe?

I saw a wild turkey near my home town back when they started to return to the area after years of scarcity. My family didn’t believe I’d seen one.

It’s not fun to have our word doubted when we’re used to telling the truth. Nor is it fun being on the other end of the situation, wondering if we can trust someone’s word.

The Bible has much to say about Truth. The prophets of old lamented the absence of Truth among God’s people. Jesus espoused Truth among His followers. But even His disciples found it hard to always believe Him. Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had returned from the grave. How many of us are doubters like Thomas? How do we know when to trust someone’s word and when not to? We can’t even trust all Internet information.

When Jesus spoke to the people, He often began by saying, “Truly I say to you…” Can we really trust His word? When He was brought before Pontius Pilate to stand trial and spoke on behalf of Himself and His Father in heaven, Pilate said, “What is truth?” How ironic that Pilate did not recognize the Truth even though it stood right before him. Jesus said, “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) In His recorded prayer to the Father, He claimed God’s Word as Truth. Even David said, “His Truth shall be your shield and buckler” and “His Truth endures to all generations.”

Though we can’t always believe someone else’s word, we can always depend on God’s Word. He has proven himself to be true to His word. Yet many skeptics today choose not to believe it, and therefore cannot recognize Jesus as Truth. When many of Jesus’ followers left Him and He asked His disciples if they would leave too, Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68-69)

God’s truth is absolute and eternal. It is a precious attribute of God, one which He wants us to use as a way of life. He desires His truth in our inner being.
Lord, through faith may we all come to believe wholeheartedly that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Jesus’ name, amen.