Truth Sandwich

I was studying 2 John this morning, and the need to continue to follow God's truth really came out strong in the theme. The truth is something God gives to us in the form of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and that is pretty much it. The big thing about truth is it is NOT negotiable. God is truth, and that is IT! Look at how John addressed the need for truth in 2 John. First of all, John says he was very happy to see that the fellowship of those believers lived in the truth. Verse ⁴ How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. John was either writing to a widow and her children, or perhaps symbolically to a church and their members. Either way, it is important to see that, like our world today, there was a lot of opinion floating around in the community of believers. John was giving them a warning not to believe everything they were hearing, only to follow God's truth. God makes His truth available to each of us as we walk on this faith walk, and it is evident what God is saying when we read it in God's Word.

Secondly, John says the following verses ⁶ Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. ⁷ I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. If we truly love God, our love will be seen in how we follow His truth. In other words, we won't take the Word of God and "bend" it to fit what we want, but we will just follow what it says, no matter what others try to do to it. And we do some who really "bend" the truth according to their morality code, which is humanistic at the core. To follow every yahoo who holds up a Bible and tries to make something it isn't is something we must avoid at all costs. Weigh everyone's teaching, and the Holy Spirit will give you a discerning mind as to whether you should believe their impressions or not.

Thirdly, John gives a response we must make if the truth is not God's truth. Verses ¹⁰ If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. ¹¹ Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work. We are in the last days before the coming of Jesus, and the Bible specifically says there will be those who preach a different word than the Word of God. John is just saying, "Don't let their words draw you in."

Here is an example of a Truth Sandwich, and if we chew on it, we should be ok. Take two pieces of bread and let them be the outside of the sandwich, and that represents Jesus because He is the Bread of Life, and our life begins with Him and our being born again in the Spirit. John 6: ³⁵ Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. God satisfies our hunger, and He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:¹ God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. The next thing is to put flavoring on the bread. I like mayonnaise, but you might like ketchup or mustard. I love the smell of mayonnaise and the smell helps me crave the topping itself. 2 Corinthians 2:¹⁴ But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

Then comes the inside of the sandwich, and I like meat, like ham or turkey, or whatever. This is where truth begins to reside in every part of our lives. Hebrews 5:¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. No more baby food because we are now handling the deeper truths that God is giving us, and God is honing our life skills in order to grow in our faith walk. God does not cheat us at all, but opens up the floodgates of His truth and fills us to overflowing. Personally, I like some cheese on my sandwich, and cheese represents the care God takes in making His truth perfect by curing it to the perfect state we need in order to complement the meat of the Word. It all just fits perfectly, and that is why the Bible is its own best commentary.

All of this sandwich-making comes back to us. We are given a perfectly wonderful sandwich prepared by God from the beginning of time, but we have to eat it to get the full benefit of the meal. All I can say now is to "Dig i" and your hunger will be satisfied beyond your furthest dreams. The Apostle Paul "got it" and when writing to the church at Philippi, He told them the following in Philippians 4: ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. I love the word "then," and I am trying to live in the depth of that word because I am seeking God in His Word, step by step. I am eating this Truth Sandwich and I do not get indigestion or heartburn. I get a heart that is lifted up to a better place, with God.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren