Have you ever met a know-it-all? You know, that person who has it all figured out. I’ve met quite a few in my life, but there’s one in particular who stands out among them all – me. I wasn’t a know-it-all in every category of life, but I was when it came to certain theological issues.
I won’t discuss those issues right now, but perhaps in a future blog. What I will talk about is how I left the know-it-all life behind.
We would all like to think of ourselves as seekers of truth, people who genuinely have an open mind and are ready to accept truth when it is presented to us. I heard this statement from a great man of God named Simon Purvis a few years ago –
“Truth is not a destination, it’s a journey.”
What? I thought truth was truth. Period. Yes, that is right. Truth is truth. Here’s the issue, truth is not an “it” that we arrive at, drive our stake in the ground, and build a monument there. That is how most denominations were formed. We discovered a sacred truth, set up camp there, and proudly sang “We shall not be moved” for the next hundred years, never realizing that God had already moved.
Truth is a person.
Remember the words of Jesus, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me?” All who are in Christ began the journey there. He is the foundation of truth. He is the truth by which all truths must be measured. It all begins with Him.
When we focus our pursuit on finding out what He is really like and discovering the nature and character of God the Father as revealed in Christ, the Son of the living God, then He becomes the lens through which we view scripture.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb.13:8)
Few, if anyone, reading this would disagree with that. He is the same as He always was and will never change. However, if you’re understanding of Him hasn’t changed in thirty years, let alone one, then you’re not growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (see 2 Peter 3:18).
It takes grace to change, and it takes humility to receive grace. In fact, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). He resists the proud! The word resist here literally means “to range in battle against, to oppose one’s self.” I cringe at the thought of God opposing me!
I have often pondered the fact that the kingdom of God is expanding and the church is exploding at such an exponential rate in other parts of the world, but not here in the good ole’ USA. Why? Do we not have enough churches? Hardly. There is no shortage of those in America. In some towns you can find one on practically every street corner.
We are proud. We’re proud of our American Jesus that we’ve made into our image.
When I began to immerse myself in the gospels again and take another look at The Son of God, I asked God to give me new glasses with which to see. These new glasses are not tinted with another man or denomination’s image of Him. It means I can now read the Beatitudes where Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” without adding a “but you know, sometimes there are exceptions.”
My journey of discovering The Truth, which began 48 years ago, has become even more glorious since I removed those tinted glasses. A new wave of grace is washing over me now. I’m seeing Jesus more clearly and its made the path ahead of me brighter than ever. The more I get to know Him, the clearer I see Him, and the clearer I see Him, the more I want to know Him.
Sometimes you just have to read the story like it’s the first time you’ve ever read it.
We need revival in our land. We need awakening in America. When it happens, what will it look like? It will look like us looking like Jesus. You know, the one in the Bible. It will happen when we humble ourselves and confess that we have misrepresented Jesus.
Lord, give us the grace to RE-present You!
Kevin