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Seeking Truth

Twelve years of public education tends to shape one to take in whatever is heard as truth. It can be comfortable to simply accept whatever is presented and one finds most others similarly inclined. However, in reading the bible one does not find sailing through life comfortably as the highest good. (3 John 1:4). One can even make a case that truth and feeling good are mutually exclusive.

Consider what is taught in school about history. We get a superficial, two dimensional, almost cartoonish presentation of people and events that a real understanding would show to be the complexity of the vain, selfish, greedy, and ambitious. A political TV show once presented a frustrated civil servant disparaging the public by saying that they just want to know “who are the goodies and who are the badies”. In a way this captures a little of the desire most have for comfort over truth.

It has been said that more people will respond to the gospel in prisons and hospitals than in country clubs. This can give a little insight into why someone would endure discomfort to seek truth. Prison and health difficulties are usually not sought, however, they can force one to confront reality in a way that makes them willing to hear truth.

Most Christians have inherited a family tradition of a religious practice. Often the routine of this practice comes to be a comfortable part of one’s life. A few others may visit a church because they are seeking truth. Some are driven by difficult life circumstances while a few others might be driven by some internal need to resolve truth. The seekers may have the advantage over the inheritors as they subject what they hear to a critical assessment. The inheritors often simply assume what they have inherited is true.

A seeker can be unwelcome if his questions are unsettling. Many seekers simply search the Internet these days as it is easier than sifting through various denominational presentations of Christianity. However, it can also be lonely. A key component of Christianity was supposed to be relationships (us with God and each other). Questioning, seeking, evaluating are critical aspects to learning and growth. This also places the seekers in a more advantageous position than the inheritors.

If an inheritor were to want to start a program of growth (knowledge and understanding of truth), there are two paths. One is to resolve differences such as is baptism necessary for salvation (since there are denominations that have opposite answers). Another approach is to try to answer questions such as was the great commission given to Israel or the church? The more one reads the bible, the more one can find questions that arise. For example the Christians in Corinth are told that they will judge the angels as if they had already understood this. If this also applies to us several questions would arise such as when and under what circumstances would this happen, good or bad angels, and how could we judge anything without information as to who did what.

I can testify that having inherited a Christian tradition only to embark on a journey of seeking that the answers one finds are rewarding as one grows in finding and understanding truth. I would encourage inheritors to start seeking as the rewards of growing in truth can outweigh the comfort of complacency.

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