Truth is such a tricky thing—at least, it has been since the world got a hold of it. Once upon a time it was really very simple. Someone could be lying, we’d say, “Tell the truth,” and they would know without question what we meant. The facts. The reality.
Today, when one says, “Tell the truth,” the other can say, “Which truth? Yours or mine?”
It’s a burden that’s rested heavily on me lately: the idea that this world has lost its truth. Not only are there thousands of conflicting ideas outside of the Christian faith, but even among those who want to serve Christ we can find this relativity, this lack of a sure foundation.
When did that happen? When did black become white and white black? When did we lose track of what was moral and right, and when did we start compromising on the code he gave us? It worries me sometimes to think about how far mankind has slid, how much Satan has accomplished in confusing not only the secular world but the body of believers itself. But this morning, while reading in Hosea, I came upon a verse that gave me a new perspective.
Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. ~Hosea 4:1
I can tie myself in knots looking at the world today, lamenting just how far our race has turned from its loving Creator. But what amazes me is how our world, today’s world, can be summed up succinctly and accurately in a verse penned thousands of years ago. Like Solomon said, there’s nothing new under the sun. Just as the world was depraved, lost, and corrupt in the days of Hosea, the same is true today. But the good news is, just as God was in control back then, His grand design is still in place, still at work, and still unaffected by the lengths to which mankind goes to dismantle it.
Truth may be rare, but still, it is surviving. Still enduring, still working, still true. Truth is Jesus—the light that shines in darkness that the darkness can never extinguish. Truth is the Word—the scriptures God gave us to guide our lives according to His will. Truth is our anchor, our sure foundation: it is the unchanging Word, the unchanging Saviour, and the unchanging God we serve.