Personal Truth
Scripture Reading — John 8:31-36
"If you hold to my teaching ... you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32
Sometimes the Bible is described as a telescope. A telescope is not something to look at but an instrument to look through. When we do, what is far away or hard to see becomes clearer to us.
When we look at life and history through the lens of the Bible, what once seemed distant and hard to understand comes into focus. Through Scripture we are brought close to God. Through Scripture we are brought near to events that happened thousands of years ago. We zoom in, for example, on the life of Christ, who became human and came to live among us (John 1:14).
Jesus wanted the people of his day to believe in him as the One who reveals the truth about God and what God is doing in this world. But instead they wanted to hang on to old legalisms, refusing to admit that they were slaves to sin and could not keep the law perfectly. Jesus urged them to accept him as the eternal truth and life who could bring them out of this slavery and give them new life forever with God.
Are we any different? As we daily encounter the Word of God, we must accept God on his terms, not ours. By relying on the Spirit's help, God speaks to us and breathes into us his life and truth. And that truth sets us free-free to serve him in our daily work, play, relationships, and every other facet of life.
<p>Jesus, I need your truth to set me free-free to serve you. Speak, Lord, and your servant will listen. Help me to know I can do all things in the strength you give. </p><p>Amen.</p>
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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