Truth

Good friends are often the ones who can remind us of the truth. It can be so easy to find myself doubting what I see and what I hear when bombasted with words that throw up a smoke screen and make it difficult to find my way to clear air.

I am thinking of a personal situation where this is the case, but I am also seeing a sense of this in Jesus’ story. On Sunday, the crowds cheered him and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna means “save us.” They welcomed Jesus as the one to save them.  By the end of the week, many of the same ones who welcomed him were among the crowds who shouted “crucify him.”

After having been betrayed, spending a night under arrest and being beaten, Jesus faced Pilate before the very crowd who had turned so fickle. He might have begun to doubt his ability to discern reality but he was able to hold to the truth. He did not waver.

When I find myself wavering, I sometimes need someone who will remind me of truth. Then I can look at my situation and have greater ability and freedom to discern what is true, and how close I am to it or not.

John 18:37a-38

“For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”