Tag Archives: Revelation

Worldview & Truth

Knowing Truth, part 2

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(This is a follow-up from my April 29th post: Knowing Truth)

As a first step in knowing truth, we must be willing to change our mind and go where the facts lead. Apart from that openness we will never know the truth.  Whether we’re assessing the character of a politician, testing the veracity of the Gospels, or trying to figure out what really happened on 9-11, we MUST follow the evidence wherever it leads.  

In both classical education and historic Christianity there are three universally recognized paths to discovering the truth: Reason, Experimentation, and Revelation.  These three ought to validate each other like three stars in perfect alignment.  If one of them fails to align with the other two, we will lack confidence, and need to continue investigating.  We’ll look at them one at a time in no particular order:

1. Reason: “Come let us reason together…”  – Isaiah 1:1

If a person were hiking through the woods of South Dakota and he came upon the above scene, his reason would tell him immediately that this was the work of a designer and not the product of erosion.  Mount Rushmore is far too detailed and complex to have just “happened” on its own.   Reason is never an enemy of the Christian, but rather our friend and ally.  Therefore we must learn to handle it well,  “…always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.”  1 Peter 3:15.  

2. Experience and experimentation: “Test all things, hold onto what is true.”  – 1 Thessalonians.5:21

We learn by experience. Infants enter the world as little scientists, testing this and that to discover information about the world.  We learn that touching a hot burner is painful every single time.  I remember biting into a horseradish when I was five and experiencing a pain so profound I thought I would die.  It was a learning experience that has informed me for a lifetime.   To Thomas Jesus said “…reach  here with your hand, and put it into my side.”  (John 20:27)  That’s an invitation to  discover truth by experience.

3. Revelation: “… this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”  – Matthew 16:17

But there are some things which cannot be known by direct experience or reason alone.  These things must be revealed to us by God himself.  Apart from the scriptures there is no way, for instance, we could know that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  – John 1:1-2   The good news is that revelation has been given to us in the sixty-six books of the Bible.  And when acted upon, it will be confirmed by both reason and experience.

In a culture that questions the very existence of Truth itself, we disciples of Jesus must learn to recognize, value, and defend it at every opportunity.   

Discipleship, Musings

Front row seats, but missed the show

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Mark 6:52 is such a sad verse: “For they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, for their heart was hardened.”

One of the great benefits I’ve discovered in writing this blog is that it requires me to live with my eyes open.  If I drift through the days with a dull heart, I will have nothing to say.   (And lets be honest, there are great chunks of time when I fail to update for that very reason).

One of the best, most powerful “prophetic words” I ever received was when I was about to leave for my YWAM training in 1994, and a friend from church locked his gaze on me and said, “Pay attention!”   Those two words became lodged in my heart and over the years have come rushing back into my mind in airports, gardens, classrooms and conversations.  Annie Dillard, the insightful author of A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek has said “A writer is a professional observer”, and I would add “so is a disciple of Jesus Christ.”  

How sad that these disciples had a front row seat for the miracle of the loaves and fish, and yet never actually saw what happened.  Their heart – that miraculous holy place within us – had become hardened.  May God spare us from that fate and give us eyes to see.  Perhaps this is why Paul’s prayer for his Ephesian friends was “That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”    This has been my prayer for many years now, both for the church and for myself, because I have a secret fear: that sitting in the front row, I may still miss the show.

John Piper has said “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”   So in the words of my friend, lets “Pay attention!”