the need for truth

I am the way, the truth, and the life!

                     Jesus

 

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

                     Jesus (again)

____________________________

 

I have been thinking this morning about truth

 

what is truth?

if Jesus has anything to say

truth is love

 

truth is seeing things as they really are

the good, the bad, and the ugly

 

truth is seeing the divine original in others

and the divine original in ourselves

 

truth is acceptance of what is real

the acceptance of things the way are

 

and the truth sets us free

 

imagine if you will, that our lives are like

that beloved playground we played on as children

in my day that meant jungle gyms, teeter-totters,

the old steel “merry go rounds”

tetherball and swings

 

we would joyously rush into that space

when set free from our classrooms,

and play fervently and freely

 

in part because we knew it was safe

(some would disagree that old equipment was safe)

 

my playgrounds were surrounded by a fence

which kept us in, created safe boundaries for us

and kept the “bad things” out

 

it is an interesting fact that when a playground has a fence

the children use the whole space, going to the very edges of the space

 

when a playground doesn’t the children tend to play toward the

middle

 

we need the fence

 

and for me, spiritually, the “fence” is truth

 

when I live my live within truth

I am free to be

be myself

be honest

I am free to relate to other

free to welcome, free to have compassion

 

I don’t have to tread with care

fearing that I will reveal a lie

or destroy the faux front I have established

 

and I don’t have to live in fear of

the “evil” that lurks

because in so many cases the things I fear

the things that make me defensive, and closed off

are not actually true!

 

we can deal with real threats

we cannot deal with false threats

those made up by those who would manipulate us

 

those threats can never really be addressed

because they are not truth

they are fundamentally delusional

 

and we become trapped by them

 

anytime we build our lives around lies

we are building our lives on the sands of deceit

and eventually our lives will crumble

so will our country

and even our faith system

 

if we build our lives around the truth

then will have a place to stand

firm and strong

 

not squeezed by the world into its mold

not tossed to a fro by the winds of untruth

 

but firm

 

the truth is not always easy

it can be uncomfortable, even painful

it can force us into tough choices

 

but in the long run

only if we embrace the truth

will love win