To tell the truth

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them” ~ Galileo

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." ~ John 8:32

What parent has not watched with dismay as their child takes a course of action or embarks on a path that you know is only going to lead to frustration? When our kids are small it is easy to jump in and try to do it for them, but as they grow older they want to show their independence. So you hear them say; “I know that” or “I will do it myself” or “Let me figure it out for myself.” Most parents try to find a balance between encouraging their children to be independent, rational and decisive thinkers and trying to help them avoid the many pitfalls and perils of life. We can foresee these problems usually based on our experience, knowledge and maybe even the fact we once tried the same thing only to recognize its futility.

Picture if you will an individual you know or maybe even yourself being diagnosed with a terminal illness. It has been something that has been there all along but had gone unnoticed for years. Somebody brings it to your attention but you try not to think about it. Something or somebody occasionally reminds you that you have this condition but you are in denial. When you do think about it you try to slow down the sickness or search for cures, but everything you try is fruitless. This terminal illness worsens each passing day, but you just do not want to face up to the reality of your condition.

You are not alone in this terminal condition and there is actually hope and a cure for your plight. You have a friend who also suffers from this same problem and he also is looking for a means to correct the problem. He has studied, researched and pursued a cure and miraculously it has been revealed to him how to end the suffering. He has discovered the answer to his problem and yours and he is overjoyed at the prospect.

This friend approaches you and shares with you the symptoms you both have experienced. He shows you that you too have this terminal condition and wants to tell you about the cure. But you react with surprise that he would attempt to tell you that you are ill. You tell him there is nothing wrong with you and that you have no interest in what he has to share with you. After all, how does he know for sure that he is right? What gives him the right to tell you that you have a terminal condition? He tells you how many others have found this cure and thrived because of it, yet you tell him to leave you alone.

Picture this same friend who knows about this cure, yet rather than tell you he keeps it to himself. He is thriving and blissfully enjoying himself and watches your condition get worse by the day, yet he stays silent. He watches you slowly fade away and even when you appear willing to hear about the cure he still says nothing. Eventually he watches as you die and only then is he remorseful that he didn’t share with you the cure for your plight. Of these two individuals which one of these is showing compassion? Which one loves you more and is truly merciful?

The illness we all suffer is the terminal problem of sin, and according to Romans 3:23 that problem is universal; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Just one sin is one too many for a holy God who cannot tolerate sin, (Isaiah 59:1-2). The result or wage we earn through our sin is death, (Romans 6:23). But God’s justice and mercy intersected at the Cross and He provided a way for all the world to be free from the terminal nature of sin, (John 3:16). What is your reaction when someone shares this message with you? Are you the patient who tells his loving friend to leave you alone, or do you recognize that your friend is trying to show you the same mercy and compassion he has received at the nailed scarred hands of Jesus Christ?

Penn Gillette is a magician and comedian who is part of the duo of Penn and Teller. He is an atheist and believes that there is no God. If you visit YouTube you can watch Penn in a video called “The Gift of the Bible” and this is an excerpt of what he says; “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there is a heaven and hell, and that people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and that you think that it is not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, and atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize, just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself; how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

Do we care enough about others to tell them about Jesus Christ? Do we care enough to share it in a thoughtful and loving manner that leaves people with the impression it is because we care? Or do we appear to think we are somehow better than them because we have received what was freely given? Do we forget that we too were once dead in our trespasses and sin, (Ephesians 2:1)?

In his famous message “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards states; “All wicked men's pains and contrivance they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, don't secure 'em from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do; everyone lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes won't fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the bigger part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done: he doesn't intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take care that shall be effectual, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail. But the foolish children of men do miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in their confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The bigger part of those that heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell: and it was not because they were not as wise as those that are now alive; it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape.”

If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ and you have a friend or relative that is telling you about the free gift of salvation try to keep in mind that they are only doing so because they love you and care about you. If you are a Christian and you aren’t telling others then why not? Mercy is rescuing someone from their deplorable state. Are we showing mercy by remaining silent?

"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy" ~ Titus 3:5a

“How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.” ~ Hebrews 2:3