Do You Love Truth?

        Any Christian would answer yes to this question. Any person seeking what is right would answer this question, yes, I love truth. Proverbs 23:23. “Buy the truth and sell it not”. Why? Because of how precious truth is. John 17:17, “sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth”.  John 8:32, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. So we see how precious truth is. Make us free from our sins and reconcile us to our Father.

        We should never allow a person to become our enemy because they tell us the truth. But sadly this happens. The very ones who would yell out loud, “ I love the truth” are the very ones who get mad and count that person their enemy because they may have tried to correct a wrong in that person. We see examples of this in our Bible. Matthew 10:34-39. Verse 36 states, “and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household”. Why? Because of truth.  I am sure if each of the individual’s mention in these verses were ask the question, “Do you love truth” the answer would be yes. But truth will divide households and families.

        Paul said in Gal. 4:16 “have I therefore become you enemy because I tell you the truth”? Do we count those about us today who tell us the truth as enemies? Do we buy the truth? Thought here in Proverbs is, we are to possess truth. When truth is shown to us, by our studying or someone who cares for us points out wrongs in our lives, do we want to possess that truth, or is our attitude that of the Philosophers at Athens in Acts 17:32, “we will hear you again on this matter”.

         Stephen told those in Acts 7 the truth when he said in verse 51, “you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in your heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit (truth) as you fathers did, so do you”. Stephen put truth right in their face and verse 54 states their reaction. “when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth”. Truth is what cut them to the heart, but their reaction showed they did not have a love for the truth.

       How different from those in Acts 2 when Peter preached to them and told those there the same thing in verse 36,37,  “ therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. When they heard this (truth) they were cut to the heart and said, what shall we do”? One group possess the truth taught them, one did not.

        Is it different today? Next time someone speaks to you of a wrong they have observed in your life and brings this to your attention, notice what your reaction will be. Churches have been divided, families divided, marriage’s suffer, some become mad (offended as they say) and cease coming, some members go to other places where they do not have to hear about their faults and their faults will not be told to them. And I am satisfied if before this took place if you ask these individual’s, “ do you love truth” the answer would be yes. How true the saying of truth, “therefore by their fruits you shall know them”. Matthew 7:23

                                                                                                       - CL Bruner