Jimmy was a good-looking 70s guy. To meet him was to be charmed. When asked about his occupation he would speak of small businesses that he had built and recently sold. One day when seen working on a rubbish collection truck, he said he was standing in for a sick friend. Though he never owned a car or house, he would generously offer his expertise to negotiate with used car salesmen and real estate agents; the long test drives and morning teas were on them. But it was when meeting his family, you realised that something was wrong. His dapper appearance, quick wit and orderly manner didn’t fit the dysfunctional surroundings in which he was raised. It wasn’t long before he disappeared out of sight, and I never saw him again. However, I was in a Bible class about seven years later, when someone started speaking about a non-Christian friend in glowing terms. Unmistakably, it was the same, Jimmy. He had found new friends to impress with his act. They would learn the hard way that everything about him was a lie.
Your choice between what is good and what is evil will always come back to this one question: “Who do you trust?”
Jesus lays all the cards out on the table. He boldly claims to be “The Truth” (Jn.14:6), and unapologetically exposes Satan as ‘the father of lies” (Jn.8:44)
The apostle John shows that you can know whose side you stand on by seeing what controls you: “We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1Jn.5:19).
Truth binds us tightly to Jesus and His church. Lies are the desperate coping mechanism of the spiritually dysfunctional. Truth brings freedom and security, lies bring slavery and loneliness.
Christians serve in the realm of truth. All the promises of God are built on this reality: “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb.6:18).
John Staiger
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