John 8.16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true,
because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. - Jesus
Jesus had His detractors – I suppose all of us do at some
point. Not everybody loves everybody. But the Lord’s detractors challenged His
credibility. They said: “Here you are, appearing as your own witness;
your testimony is not valid.” (I think it funny that they said so, given
they were doing the same thing – where was their
credibility??)
Credibility is a big deal in our age. It isn’t that it
wasn’t in days past, but nowadays who can trust anything anyone says?
Credibility is a big deal, and nobody believes much of what anybody says. So,
the credibility of Jesus is so vastly important when we have all come to the
point of: everyone is lying.
The truth is, everybody is not lying, but because the suspicion of lies is so strong, that credibility
is even more important. So, in the age of lying, in whom do we trust? Is Jesus
who He says He is? Or is the Bible all lies as well? And what do we do when
everything is perceived as lies or everyone as lying? To whom do we turn for
truth?
Belief is not just some switch to be flipped. Belief is a
God thing. Jesus said in John 6.65: “This
is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
We can’t even come to God without divine enablement. And without that, all that
is left is lies.
Divine enablement is not something that is withheld by
God for the chosen few, it is His gift to all
who will accept it. Divine enablement is as simple as a beautiful sunset, or
the vast array of stars in the heavens – it is the acknowledgement of the
reality of God. We seem to want to call God, God; but we won’t truly
acknowledge Him as God. It’s because we believe more in the lies spread about
God, than we do in the truth of who God really is, and Whom God has sent.
To some (well, to many) lies make them feel better. Many
would rather accept the lies of man, because the truth of God makes them feel
weird. They know something is wrong but refuse to accept truth, so they accept
lies. The Pharisees lied about God and that precisely why they could not accept
the One who told them He came from God. Their retort was simply: you’re lying!
Jesus replied: But
if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the
Father, who sent me. Jesus called God His Father, as every man should. But
all He got from men was the accusation that He was lying. Habitual liars can’t
recognize the truth if it bopped them on the nose…
Jesus came offering the truth and the truth is lost on
those whose lives are devoid of God. To the godless, there is not beautiful
sunset or sunrise; there is no response to the call of the heavens that declare
the handiwork of God (Psalm 19). There is only deadness fed with lies.
Father in Heaven,
You have enabled me to see only because that is what You do for every human
everywhere, all the time. I am not special, I have only responded to what You
have presented. Lord, it boils down to only this: You, or lies. You have given
me the choice, and I have chosen. Like Jesus, I choose to stand with You. Help
me to help others to make the choice – we are all on our own before You!
Amen
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