COLD, HARD TRUTH?
We got an
advertisement in our snail mail the other day from a dental insurance
company. I usually toss those kinds of
things away, but the front cover kind of grabbed my attention. Emblazoned across the page were the words,
“The Cold, Hard Tooth.” That took me
back in memory to a time when the phrase from which that was taken was pretty
popular – “The Cold, Hard Truth.” Google
says that George Jones (remember him?) sang that song back in about 1969 or so. I don’t remember the song, but I do recall
that my mother used that phrase once in a while to express a warning about the
consequences of some decision that my sister or I would be about to make with
the idea that sometimes we don’t so much break some kind of absolute principle
or law as we do break ourselves on those things and suffer for it.
That phrase
always made me at least pause to think about whatever it was I was about to
choose to do. But it also gave me a
disinclination to regard all truth as positive, since the negative aspects of
its being “cold and hard” implied its unpleasantness.
That started me
thinking about “truth” in general. In
the Gospel of John, c. 18, v. 38, the Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate was
examining Jesus prior to having him crucified and responded to Jesus’ words that
“Everyone on the side of truth listens to me,” with a question that has become
pretty popular in our postmodern world – “What is truth?”.
Present society
in general seems to have the opinion that there is no such thing as “absolute
truth.” Instead, something may be “true
for you” but may not be “true for me.”
In the name of tolerance we should give up considering anything as
absolutely applying to everyone or even to anyone. It seems we must be given the right to choose
our own truth by which to order our lives.
That may sound good in principle, but its unworkable in
practicality.
The Greek word
translated “truth” in English carries the deeper meaning of “reality.” That means, “things as they actually
are.” We may get to choose different
virtual realities, but when we get out of the make-believe, we come back to
face the everyday world that has some foundational principles ruling it that we
can’t opt out of. That’s the “cold,
hard” aspect of truth. One guy said that
he had gotten into alcohol and drugs because it helped him escape from the
demands of his everyday life. But he
quit those things when he discovered that when he came down from the highs, his
problems were still there, but compounded because he had spent money he didn’t
have on things that didn’t do any good.
I know I am
sounding preacherish. So let me turn a
corner to talk about the other aspect of truth as I have experienced it. I like to call it “soft, welcoming” side of
truth.
This aspect of
truth enables someone who chooses it to experience a life of satisfaction and
fulfillment, simply because following its invitation puts us in tune with the
way the universe was originally planned to operate smoothly. We get to “go with the flow” of the cosmos
instead of fighting against it.
This Truth has a
name. His name is Jesus.
Here are a few
of the things He claimed: “I am come
that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Who is He talking about? Those who choose to follow Him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest.” “I
am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Does that mean
that Jesus promises a life without struggle to those who choose to go with Him,
step by step? Absolutely not. We all still face things that are distinctly
unpleasant and demanding. Sometimes the
pain gets so intense we ask Him “Why?”. But He is a faithful Friend and Brother and
Guide and Counselor and Healer and, and, and. . . . The Truth will not abandon us; His
Spirit-Presence in us makes us “more than conquerors.” Nothing we face can separate us from His
loving, gracious foundation beneath us, His strength within us, and His
protection surrounding us. He is neither
cold nor hard. He is warm and inviting
as He invites us into a relationship with Him that is more than anything else
we could ever experience.
We are made for
the Truth. His name is Jesus.
I am a
preacher. I think that’s okay.
