Truth seems to be a difficult concept in the world at the moment. In an era of ‘fake-news’ and ‘post-truth’ it is forgivable to be completely confused about what truth actually is and how to find it. It’s not uncommon for opinion or personal preferences to be touted as fact and, thanks to the spread and accessibility of the internet, it has become hard to verify sources and judge information.
So what is truth?
The dictionary defines ‘Truth’ as being:
The quality or state of being true; That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality; A fact or belief that is accepted as true.
Dig a little deeper
In basic terms if we are looking for what is true, we are looking for something that is real. Something tangible, that can be experienced and that is present in reality. To find out the authenticity of something you need to establish how real that thing is. This takes time, it takes effort and it requires involvement. All too often (especially in this age of online information) we accept statements as truth without verifying their reality for ourselves. Just because someone said it, wrote it or published it, doesn’t make it true. Nowadays, anyone can pass off their opinion or idea as gospel on the Internet but it’s up to us as the reader to find out if what they are saying is accurate or nonsense. Truth needs to stand up to scrutiny. It needs to be questioned and if it is actually true it becomes stronger as a result of the investigation; it’s not weakened by it.
Ask, seek, knock
The Bible calls Jesus the Truth. It seems like a funny name for a person really, but if you consider that being true means to be faithful, right and without error, it’s probably the best description of who Jesus actually was. For some reason people tend to take Jesus at face value and either believe He is who He said He is, or discount Him completely without a second glance. To be honest this is no different to reading something on the Internet and adopting it as fact just because someone wrote it. However, as with anything that claims to be true, Jesus should be investigated to prove His legitimacy. If what the Bible says about Him is true it will bear analysis; and when someone claims to be the key to knowing God and spending eternity in Heaven, isn’t it worth taking the time to see if what they are saying is true or not?