Seeking God and Seeking Truth

Moses described God as “a God of truth” in Deuteronomy 32:4. If we think that we can seek Him and love Him without seeking and loving truth, we are tragically mistaken. We can’t have God except on the basis of the truth about Him. Some refuse the truth about God willfully, of course. Jesus said in John 3:19, “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.” On the other hand, there are those who courageously “rejoice in the truth,” even when it requires sometimes painful adjustments in themselves.

When we are considering something that has been presented as being the truth about God, we sometimes act as if our preferences were the supreme judge or court through which all ideas must be brought for judgment. It is very common these days to hear people say, “I could never believe in a God who _,” and they fill in the blank with whatever offense that comes to mind, as if God could not possibly be anything other than what agrees with or is similar to our thinking. We see the error with this thinking, right? If a laboratory scientist took such a similar attitude toward physical reality, he’d be laughed out of his profession. If he said something like, “I could never believe in a phenomenon as destructive as nuclear fission,” his foolishness would be obvious. The truth would still be true whether this fellow approved of it or not. Why then, when the realities are spiritual, do we think we can predetermine what we’ll allow to be true and then judge God accordingly? Scripture tells us about the danger of relying on our own thinking. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to men, but the end to that way is death.” We have to accept facts and acknowledge how hard they can be to embrace. Facts rarely shape themselves to fit our feelings. God does not conform Himself to whoever we say that He is. God has always been the same and will continue to be the same. The sooner we lay aside our brash demands concerning what His nature “must” be, the sooner we can get on and focus on how we fit into God’s kingdom — that is if we do fit.

None can deny that false notions about God can be powerful, especially when we look at our culture today. But as a Roman philosopher once said, “Truth gives wings to strength.” When our religious motivation, or spiritual drive, is powered by the truth about God, who He says He is, and trusting in what He says He will do, something takes place that is truly great. If we embrace the truth, we can soar higher than what we thought possible. If we accept the truth then we can finally grow strong enough to begin tasting the freedom that Jesus spoke of in John 8:32: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Oren Caskey

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