One of the main reasons for the title of my book "When Truth Knocks" and the motivation for writing it has to do with the importance of truth. When the value of truth fades or is rejected by a society, that society will become so dysfunctional that the many systems within it that are necessary to maintain protection, food, health care, and social cohesion will fail.
Without truth, there is no foundation upon which to build or maintain any sort of social construct. Without truth as our guardrails, we crash and burn as a society. Without truth as our foundation, all of our social, economic, justice, political, and religious systems sink into the quicksand of chaos and animalistic behavior. Without truth, every person does what he or she chooses, feels right, or desires with no concern for right or wrong, good or bad, because there is no truth to determine what is right, wrong, good, or bad.
When God created the universe, He instilled truth as the foundation for all things. It's the glue that holds all things together. It's the foundation upon which all things are built on. It's the light that reveals problems, the medicine that heals relationships, and the guide that leads us out of darkness and rescues us from a life of meaninglessness.
By understanding the importance of truth we understand why Jesus said, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). Lies and liars manipulate and control us, but the truth sets us free. Furthermore, truth is part of God's nature. God is both love and truth. He cannot be anything else.
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:17-18 ESV).
Jesus put it this way: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Thus, we see that God is truth and since we are made in God's image, we are made to be truthful. We may learn how to lie, feel it is best in situations to lie, and for some, practice it so frequently that it comes naturally to us to lie without giving it much thought. However, our bodies reveal that we are lying because it is made in God's image. It reveals it by unconscious actions.
As I watched a seminar on YouTube conducted by a former CIA agent, I asked the question "Why is this true? As the agent shared ways you can spot a liar, I said to myself, "Why do liars provide tell-tail signs that they are lying?" The reason they provide verbal and non-verbal signs they are lying (at least to those trained to spot lies) is that none of us are made to be liars. We may learn to be liars, but our makeup (made in God's image) is such we are uncomfortable lying. We have been created to be truthful.
When Jesus came into the world, He showed us the importance of truth. He came full of grace and truth (see John 1:17). He brought us the truth about God and humanity. He brought us the truth about how to know God, relate to God, and spend eternity with God. He brought us the truth about life, death, and relationships. He showed us the importance of facing the truth, accepting the truth, and the futility of running from or rejecting the truth.
Over the years, I've seen the importance of truth. I've seen the pain experienced by those who run from and reject the truth. This was one of several things that motivated me to write my book. Other reasons include the doubts and uncertainty of many Christians. The delusion that many are living under, and the bondage and misery that many are living in because of the lies of Satan and those who serve him.
In the end, my book is about truth, the Bible is truth, but truth can only knock on the doors of our minds, we still must let it in for it to free us, heal us, guide us, and most of all, save us.
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