Experiencing Truth

In northern Israel in 2004, plans to expand the prison of Megiddo led to the discovery of an ancient mosaic that was deemed so relevant, it has been described as one of the nation’s most important archaeological discoveries. The mosaic dates to AD 230 and, when unearthed, was found to have been thoughtfully protected by those who had come before. Among other things, the mosaic bears an inscription that says, “to the God Jesus Christ.” This profession of Jesus and God as one that dates back to the third century is a powerful proof of the early church’s disposition of our Lord’s identity. This holds value to us today because it is not just about our heritage, but it is also about the Truth. 

In last month’s article, I wrote about seeing with the eyes of the heart (Ephesians 1:17), the glory of God, and the Truth revealed. In this month’s article, I want to take a deeper look at being rooted in the Truth. 

John Piper is a theologian, writer, and minister who may be most widely known for his insightful book, Desiring God. Several years ago, he was speaking at a conference where he constructed a case for what it means to be rooted in Truth. Piper said what brings us into the Truth of the Word of God is experiencing the connection between the Truth of the Word and the beauty and preciousness of what it reveals. Piper, as well, made a case that the glory of God revealed is our line of sight to the Truth. This makes all we know to be true not just information but an experience. In his address, he had highlighted Creation, Jesus, and the Bible as declarers of God’s glory, and therefore, declarers of Truth. When elevating these Truths — Creation, Jesus, and the Bible — to an experience and not just information, it changes everything. 

I am on the local tourism committee in my county, and in recent years, we hosted a free seminar on how to become an Airbnb host with the hopes we could find several local homeowners to band together to address the overnight housing shortage we have for people traveling here. We had great attendance, and I found myself scanning the room wondering who among them might be willing to lead the charge and dive into the Airbnb market. I left the meeting telling my husband, “I’m going to open an Airbnb.” I’ve been operating the rental now for two years, and everyone is amazed at the unexpected flow of bookings we have, given our remote and highly agricultural area. We’ve hosted visitors from a few dozen states and several foreign countries. I had early plans of promoting our county’s covered bridges — six in all with five of them still fully operational. I have close relationships with the Amish community locally, so I made the appropriate arrangements to lead visits to an Amish farm and to the local Amish stores with wonderfully crafted goods and home-baked items. It turns out that these plans to woo guests proved completely unnecessary. The prevailing feedback that comes to us through our guests is about the beauty all around them, being close to nature, the peace and calm, the birdsongs, the sunsets, the starry night skies, and the view. We live nine miles out in the country, and our property is surrounded on all four sides with corn and bean fields. It isn’t what someone would readily consider a tourist destination. We found, however, there may be fascinations with things like covered bridges, but there is a longing to be close to creation. 

Creation declares the glory of God. We — humankind — know God made the world. This declaration surpasses the idea that humankind has the opportunity to know; this Truth has been declared to us. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (NIV). This isn’t just poetic imagery of nature worshipping. This is a bona fide pronouncement to all humankind. Romans 1:19 describes those who reject God as Truth as suppressing the Truth and that they will be punished for this because God has made the Truth plain to them. Then comes the declaration of facts in Romans 1:20. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (NIV). Simply put, the works of God in His creation are declaring His glory and this declaration is poured out on all people. It leaves them wanting the experience of this Truth. 

Not only does creation declare the glory of God as Truth revealed, but “the God Jesus Christ” — the very One being worshipped all the way back in AD 230 by the believers in Megiddo — reveals the Truth as well. The November 7, 2005, edition of The New York Times included an article entitled, “Israeli Prisoners Dig Their Way to Early Christianity.” The article explains that the initiative to expand the prison began with using the ready labor, i.e., the prisoners, to start preparing the area intended for development. In the process, the mosaic with the words, “the God Jesus Christ” was discovered. I contemplate what these prisoners with hope in this world removed might have thought when standing where early followers and even God Jesus had been. It took my mind back to the summer of 2008 when one of our community’s historic covered bridges located in the small village of Moscow was destroyed by an F3 tornado. 

The bridge dated back to 1886, was 334 feet long, and was of Burr Arch construction. A grassroots effort to salvage and rebuild was quickly supported by the state, and a two-year process to reconstruct this nationally registered landmark was underway. Not unlike Megiddo, inmates were brought in from a prison more than an hour away to help with the physical labor of dragging the bridge’s beams and timber from the river so the recreation was built with as many of the original materials as possible. Local churches quickly got organized and took turns feeding the prisoners homecooked meals. One day when our church was serving, one of the prisoners asked who made the corn casserole because he wanted to propose to her. Everyone got a good laugh. His comments were followed by another prisoner who cleared his throat and with tears running down his face, said, “Thank you. Thank you for doing this. This makes us feel human again.” These men were experiencing unconditional love and more grace than they had been exposed to in a very, very long time, and it came in the name of Jesus. 

Jesus Christ is Truth revealed. John 1:14 informs us, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (NIV). Some immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah and others rejected that revelation to the bitter end. They saw Jesus but did not see God. They heard Him speak the Truth but did not hear God speaking the Truth through Him. Matthew describes it this way in 13:13: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (NIV). Nonetheless, the Truth is the truth, which was and is “the God Jesus Christ.” People can read about Jesus. They can experience Jesus through God in us. Their hope is choosing God in themselves. 

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV). We are directed to the Truth by way of the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul writes that the devil “has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (NIV). This is followed by verse 6, which states, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (NIV). These passages are so powerful because they point to the reality that light or the absence of it yields a specific experience. It isn’t strictly a factual element of circumstances; storing the Gospel in our hearts creates experience. 

The continuity of the story of God’s divinity and His intimate love and glory from start to finish in all of Scripture doesn’t just inform. It jumps off the pages into an experience that is referenced throughout. Over centuries and nations and circumstances, the writers are all compatibly revealing the powerful glory of God! This is how we deepen our roots in Truth. 

In the 1981 book, A Christian Manifesto, written by Francis Schaeffer, he urgently beckons Christians to depart from the moral decay of society and be true to Judeo-Christian teachings. He confronted the existential necessity to return to biblical Truth. He writes, “Christianity is not just a series of truths but Truth — Truth about all of reality.” To God be the glory, the reality of our experience!