I have some literal
thinkers in my house. I gave birth to a fledgling fundamentalist.
Black and white. Right and wrong. Justice. Truth. Rules. She’s beautiful in her
way – baby, she was absolutely born that way. However, this does present
challenges for a slightly more grace hungry, both-sides-now thinker who likes
to say things using expressions and metaphors and sarcasm, especially if that person is the parent. It can make for
some very intense conversations about nuanced things like time frames and sleeping in and hell. I get stumped a lot.
I like to talk about gray things – questions that don’t have
answers, the weather in London, the elephant in the room – but children are
rarely equipped for this.
What is truth?
The Bible is full of people who ask some pretty fantastic
questions, but I love this question. Pilate asks it of Jesus, after Jesus'
arrest. He takes a lot of heat for asking it – and, ok, perhaps it was his tone – but I think it’s a monster sized
question.
“Jesus answered, ‘You
say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come
into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth
hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’” John 18:37-8
WHAT is truth? What IS truth? What is TRUTH? Well, it’s true
that sometimes we wouldn’t know Truth if it was staring us in the face.
When my children ask me if the story of Adam and Eve is a true story, I know what they are asking
me. They are asking me, Did that really
happen? They want to know, is the God
Story the same kind of story as Santa and Little Red Riding Hood and the
Tooth Fairy – something to keep them good, out of dark woods and asleep on time.
They ask as though true and actually happened were interchangeable. They
ask as though actually happened is
more meaningful than Story. I
understand why they ask this, but I don’t think it’s the right question.
You have to know that as soon as Jesus finished telling the
story of The Prodigal Son, some kid in the front put up his hand and asked, Did that really happen? You know someone
did.
What makes a story a true
story?
2 comments:
What is Truth - Truth is a convoluted ideology based on indoctrination, Societal morals, religious prejudice and familial structures. Biblical truth is fact. "Jesus said",
Is there truth in evil - yes. Then there is the "Spirit of Truth" given us be God through the Holy Spirit. John 14: 16 & 17
As we travel this journey called life we will find many "truths" and these may change as our experiences change and our societal life style changes. However if we follow Jesus pattern of thinking we will discover the real truth.
Daddy-O
I sure love you, Daddy-O. Thank you for always being a truth-seeker.
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