What is truth? This is a question that Pilate asked Jesus and which has subsequently been asked throughout all of history since. In Bible class last week we asked this question. I think young people today are struggling with this question more than ever before because truth is being attacked more than ever before. Pilate was staring at the embodiment of Truth and failed to recognize it. In the same way, people all over the world today violently reject the very idea of God when in reality He is the truth for which they are searching.
Today (May 1st) is a national holiday in Hungary and I just got back from a long hike. There are a lot of beautiful parks in the mountains (hills) near where I live and I have been trying to make it a point to get more exercise recently. For a few weeks, I have been looking forward to climbing up to this certain peak with a huge tower on the top of it. Today was the day for it. I walked. And walked. And walked. I was sweating, legs aching, and I never made it. As I walked through the forest, ever clearing I came to I looked for the peak and kept catching glimpses of it. Finally, when I reached the pinnacle of the hill which I was climbing, I realized that I had overshot my target by about a mile. I couldn’t believe it. I looked all around and the tower I was trying to reach was actually behind me. I was on a completely different mountain!
I wonder how many people live their lives like this. They look for truth, they catch site of it, keep going, looking up and then realize, once they think they have finally achieved their purpose in life that it wasn’t God’s intended purpose for them at all. The truth that they thought was reality was actually a lie.
One of my Korean students asked a great question a couple weeks ago along the lines of this- what if all the work and study that we put in turns out to be pointless? We come to the end of our lives only to find that we achieved nothing lasting? My heart breaks thinking about this question.
I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of 8th graders, who I see six days a week normally between teaching and church, and they were so confused about the meaning of the Christian life.
The Christian life isn’t working or doing something for God. The Christian life isn’t being a nice, upright person. It’s simply knowing and operating in the truth. How do I know the truth? I get to know God who is the Truth. God doesn’t compromise on truth. He can’t. There is too much at stake. How will a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to the Word. How will I be sanctified? By the Word, the Word is truth.
The problem is that the truth can hurt. My flesh doesn’t like the truth, it’s not nice to my flesh. My flesh has ideas for my own life and God may have a completely different plan.
The greatest thing that my students can do in their lives, the greatest thing that that Korean girl can do, is to recognize Truth and follow Him. That’s the greatest thing that you and I can do in our lives as well. Pilate missed it. Most of the world will miss it. I want to recognize Truth when He’s looking me in the face and I want to follow Him.
Sorry I didn’t really talk about what is happening in Budapest! This is more of what I’ve been thinking about in my heart for a couple weeks.
Please pray for GGIS as we begin to wrap up our school year. I’ll be back in Baltimore in about six weeks!
