“There’s something wrong with your level, Papa,” my nephew, Caden said after applying it repeatedly to the surface of one board after another of the foundation of my niece, Ava’s tiny home. My dad, who is overseeing the ongoing construction project, learned contracting mostly from his dad but also from his father in law, my mom’s dad. His mentors, having been raised by parents who survived the Great Depression, both held to a zero waste policy so my nieces home will be sixteen by thirty-two, accommodating readily available lumber. He had calculated materials to be delivered and was on site to ensure things were going according to his carefully crafted plan.
With the delivery came one measuring tape. “Any carpenter worth his salt knows you use one and only one ruler for a build,” Daddy instructed my nephew. “You want consistent measures throughout.” The level he had brought with him. It was made of wood, an inherited relic from my grandfather’s master mechanic days at Cone Mills. My brother and my nephew had observed at the start that the foundation didn’t look level. “Check it,” my dad had replied confidently, handing his level to my nephew. Board after board displayed perfectly level, causing my nephew to question the tools accuracy. “There is nothing wrong with that level,” my dad quipped. “It is merely giving you information.”
My husband, Paul, tells a similar sorry from the golf course. While using his range finder to estimate his distance to the hole, another golfer argued his assessment. His reply, like my dad’s, stated the obvious. “This range finder has no personality. It is giving you objective information. Whether you think it looks right or not is immaterial.”
“The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.”
Psalms 119:160 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.119.160.NLT
God’s Word is eternal Truth. It is not subjective. Whether you agree or accept it as such is irrelevant. It remains Truth forever. Faith is operating inside the boundaries of this Truth found in God’s eternal, unchanging Word as ultimate authority. Faith first requires “belief that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) “God wants everyone to be saved and to understand the Truth,” that “Christ died for our sins once for all time, that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (I Timothy 2:4, I Corinthians 15:3-4)
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him!””
John 14:6-7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.14.6-7.NLT
Jesus was not speaking to someone He had just met. Jesus had just washed His disciples’ feet and predicted His own betrayal and Peter’s denial. He had spent three years with these men. No one knew him better and yet when he spoke of preparing a place in His Father’s home for them, saying, “And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas quickly replied, “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?””
John 14:4-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.14.4-5.NLT
“The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” (John 16:9)
“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”
Romans 3:22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.3.22.NLT
During those final days before His trial and crucifixion, Jesus continued to teach His followers but He also accepted that there were things they would not understand, indeed could not even hear at present, so overwhelmed were their senses. So He made one of my favorite promises in all of Scripture. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future.
He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.
All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
John 16:9, 13-15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.16.9-15.NLT
God did not demand that the twelve comprehend all that Jesus embodied during His time on earth any more than He expects me to grasp a clear picture of the entirety of His revealed Word in this lifetime. As long as I am alive, I will be learning to know Him. Only in death will I know Him completely!
“Now we see only a dim likeness of things.
It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror.
But someday we will see clearly.
We will see face to face.
What I know now is not complete.
But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/1co.13.12.NIRV
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.21-24.NLT
“Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.
Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.
Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.
Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.”
2 Timothy 2:16, 23, 25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.2.16-25.NLT
“But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.
So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.
And who is a liar?
Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.
Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either.
But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning.
If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.
And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray.
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true.
For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie.
So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”
1 John 2:20-27 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.2.27.NLT
Jesus walked with His first followers in intimate fellowship and He desires this same relationship with us. When they answered His call to follow Him who admitted to having no place to lay his head, they learned that man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) For them, to remain with Him, staying where He stayed and going wherever He went meant a dependency most of them had never known. Fishermen, a tax collector, and zealots were self-made men providing for themselves and others. Surrender for them was every bit as difficult as it has ever felt for you. “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
Hebrews 12:4 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.12.4.ESV
Jesus set them and us an example, He made a way for us to have His Spirit alive in us, and He stands ready to constantly intercede for us. Before his death, He prayed, “I have given them your word.
And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.
They do not belong to this world any more than I do.
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
I am in them and you are in me.
May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”
John 17:14-18, 20, 23 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.17.14-23.NLT
When we embrace the Truth, we are emboldened and empowered to “Preach the word of God.
Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.
Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.
They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.
Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord.
Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.”
2 Timothy 4:2-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.4.5.NLT
“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.
Test yourselves.
Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.”
2 Corinthians 13:5, 8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.13.5-8.NLT
“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.
For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:23-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.4.24.NLT
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.
And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
John 8:31-32 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.8.31-32.NLT
“How do you want your lumber, Poppy?” Amelia asked my husband as he half dozed on the front porch while she and her brother played in the sandbox. We had just walked over to inspect the newly poured foundation of the house our son and his wife are building for their family. Amelia had been hearing all week about the delivery of lumber expected for her new house. “Are you dreaming, Poppy?” she continued when he didn’t respond right away. “I’m thinking,” he started, then after a pause, “I’ll take my lumber with a side of nails and some plywood,” he finished. She wandered over a minute later with a teacup filled with sand in one hand and a spoon in the other. “Here’s your lumber,” she offered. “Why thank you, sweetheart,” he responded, saving that lesson for another day.
“Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.”
Psalms 25:5 NLT
A Fitting Reply 