“Honestly?”
How much do you care about truth, about honesty? The news can regularly provoke our annoyance or anger when politicians have (again) broken promises. You might feel similarly when someone hasn’t kept their word and you’re left waiting, or when your child hasn’t tidied up as you’d asked. Then again, it’s all too likely you’ve let someone else down in a similar way.
We struggle to let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’, to keep our promises. Perhaps because we simply forget, after having spoken too quickly. Or we fear the consequences and rather say or do something different. However, Jesus calls us to radical honesty, as we saw Sunday morning from Matthew 5:33-37. Yet, we don’t meet that standard…
Thankfully – praise God! – He never lies, he always keeps his promises: of forgiveness; of the Holy Spirit helping all his children; of being declared ‘not guilty’ before his heavenly throne. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ” (2 Cor. 1:20).
This doesn’t excuse us from seeking to live more according to Jesus’ words though. No, we’ve got all the more reason to live according to the truth, and to speak the truth in all we do! How then can we become more honest and reliable, more like Jesus himself? Jesus prayed to his Father: “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth” (John 17:17). ‘Sanctify’, make them holy, by the truth of the word. God shapes us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, through his Word. Everyone needs God’s word to know the truth about sin and salvation; and we as Christians still need it every day, to be made more like Jesus. Shall we read it, treasure it, and share it? It’s the only sure foundation in a world filled with lies!
Klaas-Jan Gunnink