Afternoon Tea: Truth

'But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power....They are the kind who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never acknowledging the truth'. 
-2 Timothy 3:1-7

When I read this passage this morning, it struck me as important for a multitude of reasons, the first being because really knowing truth is, in my opinion, one of the most important concepts of Christianity. Another reason why I felt so compelled to blog on this is because I've been there. I've had a form of godliness while being quite godless in my heart. What exactly does this mean?

A believer can say they are so, but if their heart is not right and focused on Christ, then how truthful are they being? By concentrating solely on the externals of religion such as the practices, forms of worship, knowledge of theology, and perhaps even memorizing scripture or religious history, one can have a facade of knowing Christ. You may know scripture left and right, but do you apply it to your life? Do you know the gospel, or do you know the heart behind the love story? Do you know theology, or do you actually embrace godliness by submitting yourself to Jesus every day? Do you have real godliness or simply a form of it?

Let me say, I'm not calling out salvation. If that step hasn't been taken for you yet, then I'd hope for you to take it very soon. Ask someone about Jesus and what He's done for you. Hear how one God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life and die on a cross for all people, a broken people, so that He would rise on the third day and through it offer every person eternal life. All that is asked of us is to accept Him as a Savior and believe in what He's done. If you have accepted Christ, I am speaking here about your life after that. Knowing truth and acknowledging truth as I am speaking of it is not a matter of eternal security but of current progress. The question directed to believers here is: what is the motivation behind how we are living our lives?

There is a difference in learning truth and acknowledging truth. It's completely possible to know all about God without actually knowing His heart. Do you recognize that He exists, creates, rules, and even saves? That's so great, really! However, do not exclude His full beauty as well as your own brokenness. Acknowledging God means admitting our fallen adequacy-in fact, our inadequacy-to give our lives daily up to God. We are meant to embrace a real, honest, consistent relationship with the Lord. It's about replacing legalism with love. It's about growing our concept of faith. It's about not simply speaking about love but actually showing it in our actions. This is quite relevant to my life, as I have learned more and more about what this truly means, having a relationship with the Lord, during my time in college, and let me simply say this: acknowledging truth instead of just learning about it is one of the most life-giving steps I could've ever taken. Decide today to delve deep into God's heart. Say, 'Today I will not only learn about truth. I will acknowledge it, too'.