When Someone is So Close to Truth

This morning I was reading in a devotional book called "10 Minutes a Day with Jesus" written by my friend and mentor Jim Reapsome. The devotional I read today was focused on Jesus' brothers. They were so close to their Savior, but for most of the life of Jesus, these brothers were not open to His message.

We all know people who are so close to the truth don't we? We have people in our lives who see witnesses of the truth lived out daily and who have read the truths in the Bible but who have not made them their own.

What a challenge to our own process of growing in knowledge and truth! Many of us wonder, what is keeping these dear ones from connecting the dots.

Some people want to have the full picture before they will accept anything. They search, define, process and consider until they feel they understand it completely. In our book we call this group the Rock Dwellers. They spend their time adding up truth and subtracting untruth in an effort to produce a crystal clear image of what is real and true.

Others only explore truth as far as it relates to their personal experience. They believe in truth but define it subjectively. In our book we call this group the Island Dwellers. They live on real islands where things can be known but there are no bridges to connect with others.

The final group believes in shared truth that we can all know but takes the view that there is much we are still learning. This group is called the Valley Dwellers in our book and they live in community and humbly journey together in search for greater truth.

Think about those who are close to the truth but have not opened their hearts yet. What are the barriers for them? Is logic their barrier? Is personal preference a barrier? Is the infinite possibilities of truth a barrier? The sooner you understand what their truth journey looks like, the sooner you can come alongside them and encourage them in their search.

Who knows, you might be the person God uses to move aside the barrier and open up His truth to them in a powerful way!

Truth is not a Burden

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus walked on this earth as Truth embodied. He is the God of the universe in human form and in this passage He called to those listening and to you and me today to rest in Him. We don't usually think of truth and rest in the same sentence do we?

Usually truth has the connotation of hard work. Because of our legal system you hear terms like "burden of proof." We talk about "searching the Scriptures" for the truth. We could go on and on with the examples from daily life that give us the idea that truth is tough going.

But is it really supposed to be that way? That is a good question. The Bereans were praised for their searching hearts weren't they. YES! So what do we mean when we say that "Truth is not a burden"?

Simply this: Our life is a journey into a deeper and deeper relationships with Jesus. If Jesus is Truth embodied as we said earlier, then our life is a constant process of knowing truth as we become more intimate with Jesus. The wonderful part about knowing Jesus is this promise in Matthew. He says that if we come to Him and invest in Him, He will give us rest.

For so many years, we have viewed truth as a goal. We dig, define, and debate in our ongoing search for truth. The discipline of these things has its place, but in the process we have made truth a burden instead of what it was meant to be.

Jesus came and said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) So we begin our truth journey focused on Jesus. But soon the search for truth can take the place of the relationship with Jesus as the focus of our attention.

We are convinced that if your truth journey is focused on your relationship with Jesus, that He will make the ride a wonderful one as you get to know your Savior. There will still be late nights of study, and opportunities for intense discussion but the burden will be on Jesus' shoulders instead of your own.