Truth exposes. Truth reveals. Truth guides. The truth of God is light. Truth is explained best by I John 1:5-10 in the following:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (I John 1:5-10 ESV)
In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle John speaks of the light. John says that if we walk and live in the light we have the truth of God in us. Then he also says that if we say we walk with God but live in darkness, we are liars and do not have truth in us. So in order to live and walk with God, we need to practice and pursue truth so that we can live in light with God. It is extremely difficult to live the Christian life without truth. Using the contrast of light and dark, I will give an analogy. Let us say that I am running through a forest that is lit up because of the day, I can more easily navigate around the obstacles in the forest. In contrast, if I am running through the same forest on pitch black night without any kind of light, I mostly like am going to close line myself with a branch or trip on a root and fall flat on my face. Although I may be able to avoid a few obstacles in the forest, it is bound to happen I will eventually not see something and injure myself. Running through a forest in the dark is like living without truth.
When we do not pursue truth we cannot see clearly and stumble and fall. Whereas if we live in truth, we can navigate life significantly easier. Now, living in light does not guarantee that we will not fall short because truth by itself cannot save, but rather it exposes we need help navigating the forest of life. Do not misunderstand me when I say that truth shows we need help because it can help navigate the forest by exposing where the obstacles are, but it cannot get you out of the forest. We need a map to get out of the forest as well, but the map side of the topic is for another day. Overall, the pursuit and practice of truth help us navigate the obstacles of life.
So, why does matter? How does apply in day to day life? Well, truth matters because as stated before truth shines a light in the dark and on things hidden the dark. Wrongdoings that are covered up and hidden from others in darkness will not stay covered up in the darkness forever. Sooner or later, the truth will expose all things whether they are good or bad. Jesus says in the gospel of Luke, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17 ESV). The truth is also a great tool for all. Since truth exposes everything, both good and bad, it can show us our own mistakes and shortcomings. Being able to see these things, allows us to work on them and better ourselves. The first step solving any problem is recognizing there is one. The truth will not solve the problems we have, but it will show them to us. Just like in the forest analogy, the light does not allow us to get out of the forest, but rather, truth allows us to navigate the forest without stumbling. The second piece to this puzzle is grace which is the map to get us out of our forests of sin.
