You Can't Handle the Truth

John 16: ²⁵ “I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. ²⁶ Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. ²⁸ Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

The old movie A Few Good Men came up with a very good line from actor Jack Nicholson, and the line was "You don't want the truth because you can't handle the truth!" As modern-day believers, we harp on the words that we want the truth, but do we really? I think we want the truth that we can handle and that fits our lifestyle and how WE think. This is dangerous because we leave out a large amount of other truth, and we call that the Word of God. Let me ask a very direct question. Is partial truth really truth at all? I think not! Thomas Jefferson constructed his own version and called it The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, and it was full of his conclusions about what Jesus was really saying and how it applies to our country, which he called the Christian system. Second-hand information at best.

I say all of this because it is important for us to be connected to "the root," and "the root" is the Word of God alone. We don't need human filters for us to realize and understand the Bible, and they actually water down the purity of The Word. In the above verses, Jesus Himself said to His closest disciples that He had spoken in figures of speech or parables, but from then on, He would tell them plainly about the Father. This is a very important truth for us to receive and also believe. Jesus made it possible for us to realize and understand the mysteries of God, which were revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Jesus goes on to tell them the truth of this deeper relationship to given to us with God the Father. The end result is when we pray God hears and reacts. When we ask for understanding, God gives it to us generously. When we seek truth, God gives us a deeper truth. Deep calls to deep. The Psalmist cried out to God and God answered him in his distress. Psalm 42:I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. ⁸ But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

God will not "short" us when it comes to finding His truth, but the question is, "Can you handle the truth?" or are you going to resist it because of the hardness of your heart? Are you so steeped in past compromised truth that now you won't accept the plain truth that Jesus offers through His Word? How did Jesus speaking plainly, and not figuratively, affect them? We see how they reacted in John 16:²⁹ Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. ³⁰ Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.” I am going to conclude that accepting all of God's Word as helpful and true will cause a deeper spark of faith in my faith walk. And so be it! Seek God in His Word, in all His Word, and see what Jesus speaking plainly will do for your faith walk. I believe you will see some mysteries solved in your personal life, and you will soar in your walk with God. Just have an open mind to HIS truth, and that truth unfiltered. Just sayin.....

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren