Monday, April 27, 2020
702 - Letting Truth Out of the Bag
Spirituality Column #702
April 28, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Letting Truth Out of the Bag
By Bob Walters
“When the Counselor comes, who I will send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify
about me.” – Jesus, in John 15:26
A little more than a year ago I inherited the teaching
duties in our church’s Thursday morning seniors “Mustard Seed” Bible study fellowship. At age 65 I am the “kid” in the group, and I
can barely describe how enriching it is to share scripture with this weekly group
of seasoned, Bible-savvy saints.
Currently we have not met since Thursday, March 12, which
was pretty much the last open day in Indiana before everything, including our
East 91st Street Christian Church, area schools, and public meetings
started shutting down Friday, March 13.
Mustard Seed – no argument there – is the kind of group that
especially needs not to meet when a pandemic like COVID-19 is an evident danger
to older folks.
But what I wanted to talk about this week is not the dire,
dour, and depressing isolation of our nation’s and indeed the world’s present
situation. Nor can I think of anything
new to say about our individual and largely home-bound circumstances. To all those folks still out there working
every day in hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, and other life-saving and
society-sustaining endeavors, I say “Thank You!”
What I do want to discuss is the
plain-as-the-nose-on-my-face fact that perhaps the greatest joy-robbing,
hope-jangling feature of this unprecedented time is the utter absence of what I
would call reliable truth about virtually anything having to do with the
reporting, media narrative, and politics surrounding the pandemic. Who can we trust?
From China to Washington state to New York City to
Washington D.C. to Italy to my home here in Fishers, Indiana, I wonder who is
pushing which social, political, or economic agenda. What is the real danger: the disease or our
reaction to it? Since “tomorrow is
guaranteed to no one,” let’s not panic about the presently more intense
vagaries of “tomorrow.” What we all need
are facts and truth, not fear and spin.
I started by talking about “Mustard Seed” because our past
several months have been a study of “The Words of Jesus.” Especially illuminating to me personally, in
the Last Supper and Gethsemane sections of John 14-17, is Jesus talking through
these four entire chapters about God’s unwavering righteousness, eternal truth,
boundless love, infinite glory, their relationship … and his disciples’ responsibilities going
forward.
This truth – His truth – marches on. In His last hours it is virtually all Jesus
talks about.
When we can’t see truth – in anything, whether particular or
whole – our human misery most likely is in our inability to see God, relate
with Jesus, and listen to the Holy Spirit.
The world, for unrighteous reasons in times like these, prefers our
focus to be on fear and anxiety. These are man’s evil shackles that choke our
free breath in Christ.
I listen carefully for God’s truth. I know that’s what Jesus brought into the
world – freedom not just from our own sin and the wiles of wicked men
and women, but toward faith, hope, love, peace, creativity, and joy that
our trust in God’s eternal truth assures.
What a better world we make, and what joy we reap, when we
believe in and testify to God’s truth.
The fallen world controls us in fear, but Jesus by his life, death,
resurrection, and sending of the Spirit let God’s righteous, saving truth out
of the bag.
Sometimes we have to fight for that truth, but our joy
always is in knowing it.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) watches little mainstream news but stays
informed and prays big sincere prayers … regularly.
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