Truth can be hidden behind many little lies; lies that we tell ourselves to perpetuate a sense that all is ‘right’. What does it mean to you to live an authentic, truthful life that gives glory to God?

One of my favorite Bible stories about finding truth is the story of two mothers both claiming to be the biological mother of a baby. One woman’s baby has died and she has stolen another woman’s baby. Truth is sought as both women stand in front of the judge King Solomon. The wise judge comes up with a plan to discover the truth. He says:

“All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king. Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child–please do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us! Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 1 King 3: 24-27

The true mother was willing to sacrifice to protect her child!

Sacrifice!

On the path that leads to truth we often find sacrifice as a sign of authenticity. Mothers and fathers sacrifice for their children. Are parents that are unwilling to make a sacrifice for their children truly living up to their true identity as loving parents?

Last week Ireland voted to change restrictive abortion laws. Many ‘pro-choice’ women and men are celebrating this outcome. Has Ireland found truth?

What is truth?

I believe as a person of faith that truth is only found in the divine light of God. There is no ability to discern truth in darkness. If I place a coloured object in darkness we cannot discern it’s true colour unless we subject the object to the light. Once in the light we can make a proper discernment.

The problem with the ‘abortion debate’ is that we are not all standing in the divine light. The unborn child does not get to vote to live. The unborn child is dependent on the mother to give it the right to live. When we assert our rights we reveal the ‘truth’ about us.

I will tell you a story from my childhood where I had to stand before a judge. In my story the judge was the principal from the Catholic elementary school I was attending. The story begins in art class. We were all told to fill our paint trays with powdered paint when a little boy, Mark, decided to throw some paint on my new green sweater. Perhaps he was trying to show me he liked me, but I was not open to his advances. I was so angry that he had purposely soiled my new sweater that I filled up my paint tray to overflowing and I threw it at him.

The teacher frowned on both of us and told us to go down to the Principal’s office for discipline. I was nervous because Mark was covered in paint from head to toe and I had paint only on my sweater. The Principal at our school used a disciplinary approach that involved giving misbehaving children ‘the strap’, a little leather strap that would be whipped on the children’s hands until they were very red.

The Principal listened to us explaining what had happened.  My assertion that ‘he started it’ didn’t exonerate me.  The Principal informed us we were both going to get ‘the strap’ when I interjected “Sir, you will have to get permission from my Father before you do this.” “All right” he replied as he picked up the telephone on his desk, “what’s his number?”.   I replied “Sir, my Father is God. You can’t phone him, you will have to pray to Him.”

The Principal became silent as if struck by lightning. He paused and said, “I will have to reflect on this further. For now you are both to return to your class.”

At that point I became Mark’s hero. In his mind I had saved us both from a whipping, when in truth God had intervened. As we walked back to our class, Mark apologized for throwing paint on me and I apologized to him too. Mark marveled at my declaration that God was my Father. Mark said, “Telling the Principal, God is your Father, that was amazing!”

“Mark” I said, “God is your Father too!” He looked at me with puzzled eyes and I said “Are you not paying attention when we pray every morning before school starts ‘Our Father who art in heaven…”

“Oh yeah!” said Mark “I forgot!”

Sometimes we forget who we really are. We get lost in our selfishness and in society’s definitions of what’s important.

I will tell you the happy ending to my story. The Principal never used the strap again after our encounter. He decided that scourging little hands was not true justice after all.

As I think back on this I think God used a paint fight to help the Principal of a school reflect on an identity we all share: God is our Father!

We can pray the prayer “Our Father” and not really consider what does it mean to have a Divine Father. As children of God we can count on the endless love of God Our Father and God’s Only Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3: 16-18

This is truth: God loves you more than you can imagine and He wants to embrace you as His Child!

This is truth: Jesus died so you can have eternal peace and joy in heaven and live in His divine light today!

But it’s also truth that God gives every man and woman the free will to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to His love.

“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” 1 John 3: 10-11

To live a truly authentic life as children of God we must enter the divine light of God and ask God to guide us, to enlighten us through the power of His Holy Spirit and to fill us with His grace and love.

True faith is to live in an intimate, personal relationship with God.

Child of God, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, discover your true identity, which is to live day-by-day, moment-by-moment in the divine light. In the divine light the truth of who we are and why we exist becomes clear.

We are children of God and disciples of Jesus and our lives must attest to the divine truth, not to society’s truth but to God’s truth of what’s right and wrong in His eyes.

We will be pressured by society to live selfish, materialistic lives but God reminds us of this truth:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

In a material world it can be easy to be enamored with material things but the true spiritual life focuses on seeking the things that matter to God.

Prayer is required. Repentance is required. Sacrifice is required. Forgiveness and love are required.

Please consider doing this one little thing to communicate to God how grateful you are that Jesus died to save you.

Please join Christians all over the world that are stopping daily at the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in your local time zone – or in another time zone that works for you) to say thank You Jesus for dying for us! Stand at the foot of the Cross daily at this precious time that commemorates the infinite divine sacrifice. Pray for all souls at this time. Pray for Jesus to send His Holy Spirit upon our world to help us to discover His truth and His love.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6