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The Journey | 10.18.26 – 10.23.26
In college, I studied earth science. It’s a bunch of ologies and ographies related to things in, on, and around our planet. At the time, I intended to teach eighth grade science with it, and it felt like a good fit with the way my brain operates. I liked the reliability of the truths about how the Earth works. Truths that are also facts. Things that have been tested, proven, and agreed upon. Things I can research and understand. That can be my default setting for how I approach truth in most areas of life. But it doesn’t necessarily serve me well with all kinds of truth. Especially truth from Jesus. Science has objective kinds of truths. It doesn’t matter how I feel about them; they’re going to go on being true, and being the same true for everyone. When something falls to the Earth, it accelerates at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, and it’s the reason some volcanic eruptions are more violent than others. The Earth’s core is about as hot as the surface of the sun. The truths that Jesus has for us might be true for everyone, but they can’t really be proven. You have to decide…and deciding has implications.
Sometimes I put off wrestling with a truth I hear on Sunday morning or read in the Bible. I think it’s because I’m afraid. Afraid that when I’ve gotten to the heart of it, there’ll be a practical implication that asks me to change something in my life. I’ve decided that the Bible is true and that Jesus wants to show me what’s best for my life. I’ve built a life around the truths of my faith, but I’ve also built one that is comfortable. And change is hard, whether it’s pivoting away from something bad that I don’t want to admit to or let go of, or from something good that I view as part of my identity. In practice, I don’t always believe that Jesus knows what’s best for my life. I turn to my own choices, like Pilate did. Whether it’s because of the influence of the world around me or because I’m in denial, sometimes I walk away. But look at Jesus with Pilate. This is someone oppressing his people and about to condemn him, yet he does not turn away. He remains, offering Pilate the truth.
Science and objective truths exist independently of our feelings. But the truth that Jesus offers almost always invites change.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for being patient with me and for continuing to offer the truth. Help me to see what it can mean for my life and the lives of those around me. Give me the courage to try, and to try again, and to accept that most important truth: That you love me.
By Ryan Heckman
Monday, October 19
Is there a truth from Jesus that you’ve been avoiding or have turned away from? What about a time that you followed his call—what happened?
Tuesday, October 20
In your own words, what does it mean—and what does it mean to you—when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life”?
Wednesday, October 21
I think we all broadly get the idea of truth setting us free, in the same way that knowledge is power. But where are you in holding the mystery that Jesus both speaks the truth and is the truth that will bring real freedom to your life?
Thursday, October 22
“If we ultimately appeal to human reason, or to logic, or to historical accuracy, or to scientific truth, as the authority by which scripture is shown to be God’s words, then we have assumed the thing to which we appealed to be a higher authority than God’s words and one that is more true or more reliable.” —Wayne Grudem
This quote, while a little academic, gets at the tension between asking, “Yes, but how do we really know?” and taking a step of faith. Where are you in this tension over the authority of scripture and the truths of Jesus?
Friday, October 23
Not all truths from Jesus need to be thought of as a challenge for us to change. They can also be an invitation to relationship, to family. Who has made a sacrifice in your life that let you know you were loved and a part of their family?
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