Yesterday I mentioned the Scripture from 3 John: I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. Someone unfamiliar with Scripture might rightly ask, as did Pilate: "What is truth?" Someone once told me, "There is no truth, only stories we tell ourselves." I think a version of that statement is, "There is no truth, only our perception of the truth."
Scripturally, not only does Truth exist, but it has come to us in the Person of Jesus Christ: I am...the Truth. And not only does objective truth exist, but we can apprehend it -- Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth (Jn. 17:17). He intended that we walk, not in darkness, but in the Light. Every child has the right to know what his Father expects of him, and God never intended that we should have to guess what pleases Him. From the beginning, He was willing to reveal His heart, His mind, His soul to those who would listen to Him. He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve; with Abraham, He said, "Walk in my presence and be perfect/complete." In other words, those who will listen and walk with Him will know truth.
Now "truth" is an abstract idea; we cannot know truth itself unless we know God Himself. But knowing what has been given to us of God, we can even now begin to walk in the truth little by little. One of the best ways to do this is by taking small bites of the Psalms until they become part of us. When I visited the National Cathedral in Washington D. C., I found tiny silver bracelets with verses from the Psalms engraved into them. I bought the one that said, "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-ready help in distress" (Ps. 46:1). Had I known then what I know now, I would have bought about 30 or more different bracelets. I wore that one until it fell apart, until it became part of me. Even now I can feel that bracelet on my wrist when I need it. I literally wrapped myself in that truth until I knew it to be true.
Recently, a friend told me that she feared getting old, a realistic fear for all of us, without a doubt. But I suggested she wrap Ps. 34:4 around her until its truth grew greater than her fear: I sought the Lord and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me. Actually, that one psalm contains a number of verses that would deliver us from fear if we could only wrap them around our hearts and minds:
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them (7).
Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (9-10).
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (18).
A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all (19).
We don't need to read or to know the whole bible to begin to walk in the truth. One or two verses will serve to keep us warm and well-fed if we clothe ourselves in the truth and eat it as our daily bread.
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