What is truth?

If you took the time to examine what you believe and why you believe those things, then perhaps you have done some deep thinking.

As I asked myself the questions, again, and searched for honest answers, I came to some interesting realizations.

The reason “why” I believe or do not believe some things goes back to the source of information, and how reliable I felt that source was. If I didn’t believe certain things, it was because I didn’t trust the messenger. If I did believe things, it was often because I did trust the person who told me.

Who you believe is critical in the process of developing your belief system. However, it is rarely wise to believe anything people tell us without verifying truth for ourselves.

Every person has limited understanding and perspective. There are many who share “information” with us. That information is usually presented as “fact” or “truth.” We are familiar with some advertisers, politicians, even religious leaders as well as numerous other people who freely give us their views and even selective information in order to persuade us to believe them and maybe even join them in their cause, or, in some cases, send them our money. As I have shared, we choose who we will believe or not believe.

And those who love us the most also share their knowledge with us. But even their knowledge is limited. They may be sincere about what they believe, but their understanding may still be wrong, or partial, at best.

The question is,” How can we know truth?” Is there really an absolute truth? Aren’t all things relative? If so, how can we find what is true and what is not?

There is an ancient story about a person who built a house. He loved the ocean and decided that he wanted to be as close to the water as possible. So he built his house right on the beach…on the sand. However, when the weather became rough and the wind blew, and the rain came, the house fell apart because it was built on the sand. It’s foundation was not strong enough to hold the house together when the storms came.

My husband and I live in a very old farm house. It was built in the 1890’s. It is built on very large stumps of hardwood trees called Bodarc. When the weather changes, the house shifts. There are times when we are sitting in our study and the doors on the closet will open by themselves…because the house has shifted and the lock on the door no longer fits together.

The rest of that ancient story is about another man who built his house on a very large piece of solid rock. The weather never affected his house. It stood for centuries, because the ground it was built on never shifted or changed.

The story leads us to believe that the strength of a house is as good as the stability of its foundation.

If we translate that analogy to our lives, then our lives are as stable as the foundational truths in which we believe. Those foundational truths impact our thoughts and our actions. Our beliefs are not only important, they are critical to the strength and endurance and quality of our lives.

If our beliefs are based on the economy, or political figures, or anything that is made by man, they will change because people and man-made institutions do not stay the same.

If that is so, then where can we find truths that do not change?

And that is the life-changing question. What is truth and where can we find it?

There is absolute truth that is dependable and does not change. It is found in the One who created the universe, the earth, and mankind. Truth is found only in God, the Source and Creator of all things.

And then you ask…”which God?” Aren’t there many? And if so, how do you find the right God? Aren’t there many God’s because different people need different things? Can one God supply all things to all people?

There are many gods. But there is only One who was before all things.

We are told, “In the beginning, God…” He existed before anything was created.

Because He is the Creator of all things, it is for Him to teach and inform the ones He created. Who are we to teach the Creator what is true and what is not? We were not here in the beginning. He was. He alone would know.

If you do not know this God who created you, I encourage you to simply tell Him that you want to know Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will do that. He wants you to know Him. And He wants you to know truth…absolute truth.