Whac-A-Mole: Relativism — Tuesday
John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (NIV)
Around this time last year, after a long day of work, I came home with the intention of doing what I do nearly every evening—pick up a good book and sit in my sunroom and read until it’s time for me to go to bed. It was late in the evening, and I had just gotten settled in when the doorbell rang. Standing on my front porch was a disheveled young man who looked run-down and defeated. He told me he was out of work and had a baby at home he needed to feed. He asked if he could pick up the sticks in my yard and rake my leaves for some cash. I said, “Absolutely you can.” He gathered up the sticks and put them on my wood pile, but it was so late in the evening that it became dark before he could begin raking. He asked if he could come back another day and finish, which I happily agreed to. I paid him in advance for his work and even gave him a ride home so he didn’t have to walk in the cold, dark air.
Over the next couple of weeks, I gave him small amounts of cash to pay for a babysitter so he could work odd jobs. I would pick him up and buy groceries and essentials for him, his wife, and his baby. Until I discovered there was no baby. He lied to me. He deceived me. He manipulated me. Why? Because He, himself, had been deceived into believing this was appropriate behavior. This young man didn’t know the truth. He didn’t know Jesus. So how could he speak the truth?
John 8:44 states, “...(Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (NIV). Deceit stands in direct opposition to the truth. It is a distortion and denial of reality. The good news for this young man, and for all of us, is that there is a good and loving truth for him. Not his truth or my truth, but only THE truth, and that truth is Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and to know Him is to know God (John 14:6, NIV).
Tuesday’s Reflection
How do you arm yourself against the schemes of the devil? Read and pray Ephesians 6:10-18, and put on the full armor of God before you begin each new day.