A man chose a path which seemed better than its alternatives, clean and bright and full of life. The path was pleasant and proved a wise choice. Along the way he met a companion to travel with, whose company proved far more pleasant than any path without it. His traveling from then on became far less about the path beneath him and far more about the companion about him.
I do believe that God is true and can therefore withstand inquisition. However, while I also love truth, I do not honestly feel motivated to rebuild the foundations of my belief in God when its legitimacy is challenged. This lack of motivation could be the result of fear, if either God was untrue or if my belief in God as true was without full [or “enough”] confidence. This lack of motivation could also be the disconnect between the vehicles of Truth and of God, as ends in themselves.
There are two roads one can walk by that will end at God: Truth and Goodness.
If one seeks for that which is true for the sake of Truth (regardless of what one may find to be true), one will come to know The Existing One, God.
However, once one travels by way of Truth to God, they will come to know why the road is to be traveled, and may [without embarrassment] abandon traveling for the sake of the road for traveling for the sake of Him who the road lead to.
The end/goal/destination of Truth is not Truth itself [that which is true], but Him who is true, God.
10 comments:
Your entry sounds quite a bit like C.S. Lewis' "Surprised by Joy" in which he chronicles his journey from adolescence to adulthood framed by his search for the source of Joy. He defines Joy a bit differently than we would probably use the word. A "longing for the longing".
I have a few thoughts: First, I think all of us long for (and the more proactive of us search for) some sort of contentment, Joy, peace, enlightenment... - call it what you will. But I challenge anyone to deny that within us, on the surface or deep down, there is a discontment, a knowledge that there must be something more or better than this. Some despair and give up the search, but nevertheless, the longing is ever-present.
Second: As long as one's mindset is that there is someTHING better we shall never find it. It cannot be an object or state of being or place that ultimately satisfies that longing. History I believe is an apt example of this. Some say the journey is an end to itself and is all that matters, but how can a desire for desire satisfy? It just begets a second order of longing.
Third: Some are shocked, some are scared, some are overjoyed, and most never come to the realization that it is not "What" or "Where" that we search for but "Who".
We likey...this is good stuff. Two things I would ask. One is the thought that there are only two paths that will end at God, (Truth and Goodness). Can you take a path of depravity, sin and rebellion and end at God unitentionally through brokenness and hopelessness? I would say yes. The other question I have is, if one seeks for that which is true for the sake of Truth, will one always come to know God....I'm not so sure. Tell me what you think.
I forgot the n in unintentionally...damit
"Can you take a path of depravity, sin and rebellion and end at God unitentionally through brokenness and hopelessness? I would say yes."
randy knie, can you elaborate? What do you mean by this? How can I know?
thanks.
Now that there's a comment to a comment, at least I'll respond to Randy's initial one...
I think I understand what you are getting at (regarding a path of depravity) and I like it. If I understand you right, you are zooming out and noting that there may initially be destructive motives which precede the knowing of who God is. I agree, and have experienced this myself (and continue to revisit this on occasion).
However, in order to go from seeking depravity to knowing God, I expect there to be a change in direction, for it's not in knowing depravity that you know God, but in mourning depravity, in seeing it for what it is, and this catalyst [trigger] prompting an opportunity to repent [change direction]. This I would identify as the path of Goodness, the seeking after that which is good after you recognize your mis-assessment of the value/pleasure of depravity (i.e. the deceitfulness of sin).
So, I think the difference between those two ways of labeling the "paths by which one comes to know who God is" is merely how much of the journey is being considered. I am here only considering the path you find your feet (the motive of your heart) at the moment you meet the man [Jesus].
I guess I look to the parable of the prodigal son, which pretty much sums up depravity, sin and rebellion, ending at brokennes and hopelessness. That brokenness and lack of hope brought him to a place of repentance and a knowledge that he really had a wealthy, generous father.
The point of contention here could be that he knew he had a wealthy father...he lived in his mansion and saw first hand all he had at his disposal. Here I would say that I think the Holy Spirit is really good at doing His job, drawing the hearts of the children to the Father - speaking Truth where lies abound.
Is that too vague??
yes, I guess I need the details behind what is the path or paths you feel lead to God and how does somebody know what the "Truth" is.
Fair enough....how about you just e-mail me at randyknie@yahoo.com, and we'll continue this dialouge.
“A man chose a path which seemed better than its alternatives, clean and bright and full of life. The path was pleasant and proved a wise choice. Along the way he met a companion to travel with, whose company proved far more pleasant than any path without it. His traveling from then on became far less about the path beneath him and far more about the companion about him.”
As I stumbled upon this well written tale I couldn’t help but notice how pregnant it is with meaning as it relates to the title. The key elements as I see it are 1) the choice, 2) the path and 3) the companion.
As we know, God gives us that choice of what paths to take in our lives. He has given us the time, intelligence, and ability to consider the choices we will make and that we are accountable for how they affect our lives and those we love around us.
The path we choose can take many forms. It can be rugged and unstable or it can be well-rooted and secure. We can be confident in its destiny or we can opt for the risky approach.
The companion appears to play a very important role here. Who is this companion? How do we know him? How will this companion shape the paths we choose for the rest of the journey?
Now, why not jump back to one of the first paths chosen (Genesis 3) and examine it carefully. This event provides insight into a critical choice, path and companion and the results thereafter.
First, Genesis 2:
Companion: God
Path: Truth in Love
Choice: To love and obey God in perfect peace and harmony. One tiny restriction – to not eat of that one forbidden tree.
Genesis 3, Verse 1:
Companion: Here we see a new companion, the snake, enter the picture. We are told he was “more crafty” and it is safe to say probably very persuasive, comforting and quite knowledgeable. Without careful study one might find this character to be a great companion to travel with.
Path: Now the path that Eve was already on was working out perfectly. God knew what was best and she was experiencing blessing after blessing walking with Him. There were no rocks to stumble over in the path, no thorns to get caught on, no confusing road signs, no wind to blow us here and there (Eph. 4:14), etc. The path was perfectly lit, straight, safe and clear.
Choice: Eve now comes to a fork in the road; she has a choice to make. Does she listen to this new companion and take his path or follow his original Companion.
Detail in the verse:
The snake - Having the benefit of knowing what happens next and rest of God’s word, we know that this companion is actually Satan, the father of lies, and that his main intent was to make God out to be a liar and persuade man to follow him instead.
“Did God really say” – this is the first assault on the truth of God. Here Satan puts the first doubt in Eve’s head. Also, he chooses to use the root word of Elohim instead of Yahweh (sovereign Lord).
“You must not eat” – here he is pressing the issue of prohibition. He is trying to focus on the restrictions of God: holding back joy, pleasures, freedom, too limiting, etc. He is trying to play the role of true love and comfort, while carrying a weapon of falsehood and destruction behind his back, if you will.
Verse 2:
Choice: Here Eve attempts to defend her first companion.
Verse 3:
Choice: Eve decides to believe and trust the snake and take a step onto his interesting path. She starts to believe that the path she is on is too restrictive.
Path: For the sake of illustration, this path was probably more like a dark opening of a cave, positioning the snake standing confidently at the entrance.
Detail in the verse:
“you must not touch” – here we see her giving in to the snake’s lie. She even adds a restriction of her own. God never said she could not touch the tree, but only that she should not eat of it.
This simple little verse shows us where Eve released the hand of God and started FALLing toward the lies of Satan. This mistrust in God leads her to the poor choices that follow. This is where the fall of man occurred.
Verse 4:
Companion: The snake is reaching out his “hand” to lead Eve in his direction as he tells her a little tale with his forked tongue.
Detail in the verse:
“You will not surely die” – this was not truth but a lie. He is saying to not let God put these types of constraints on her, but encouraging her to live a life of “love” with him and to live any way she would want based on opinions and emotional comfort.
Verse 5:
Companion: The snake tightens a firm grip on Eve’s hand and pulls her away from her former companion to follow him into his deadly cave.
Path: The path Eve chose would actually be like a short, curvy, dark cave that quickly ends at a cliff overlooking an infinite pit of unimaginable torture and uncertainty.
Detail in the verse:
“For God knows….” – Here Satan starts to paint God as being jealous and untrustworthy. He was essentially telling Eve that God was afraid that she would be his rival or equal to Him if she were to actually eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Again, painting God’s truth as a poor path to be on.
Luke 4:1-13
Another key example of the companion Satan trying to tempt would be when he actually tried to tempt God the Son. What did Jesus reply back with all three times but the truth written in God’s word.
The point of my response is to voice caution as it relates to feeling one can just “end truth” and just focus on knowing and experiencing God. I can’t truly tell what this blog’s position is, but the “End of Truth” title is hard to ignore and quite unsettling. There has been an assault on God’s truth ever since the Garden of Eden and it is increasingly rampant today, including friendly fire.
My point is that there is no “End of Truth”. One can ignore it or reject it, but it is and will always be. If we do a biblical word search on “truth” (235 times in 222 verses) we will have to come to the conclusion that GOD IS TRUTH.
Any road not consistent with biblical truth will not lead to Him, but to a life of false security and deception. Opinions, experience and feelings are notoriously unreliable, no matter what popular opinion is.
* randy knie is right on his second point – seeking truth for just the sake of truth will not lead you anywhere eternally. Look at the Pharisees.
“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4
“"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
If we do not consult God’s word of truth to see whether we are on the right path or not, we will not know if the companion that is leading us is the Savior or the snake.
First off, I'm SO sorry for not publishing this comment sooner. Your three attempts got channeled to my "Junk Mail" folder which I haven't been checking, so I appologize for not getting to this for over two months (no intent to disrespect you).
Thank you very much for honoring our dialog and my thoughts with such a thorough responce. Very cool.
Regarding your comment (which I'll read FULLY soon once I get through this busy time at work), and I don't want to just dodge your points (really), but you've introduced elements to what I intended to communicate through this parable which are outside of (or at least not directly addressed by) the point of the parable.
If I'd offer a guess (and I admit this is just a guess) but I think you were thrown by the title. It's just fun for me to use words like this (double or ambiguous meanings), and this title zigged where you zagged.
I totally don't mean to be condescending with this, so please give me the benifit of the doubt, and I could be wrong here (I know), but I think you could benifit by using more patience in decerning the content aside from the label. I get stuck with that all the time: thinking I know what someone is trying to say just because of the words they are using or the history we have or perhaps the label I give them without actually trying to listen to what they are saying.
I am not proposing that there is a chronological end of that which is true, "end" here meaning "done" and "no more," but rather there is a "completion" or "fullfillment" of truth - and this in finding and knowing Jesus.
What I am addressing with this parable is the question of a synic (myself included to a large degree - the one who actually asks the question of myself) of, "If a believer is actually interested in folloing truth, then how can he abandon constant scrutinizing over other alternatives for the one Jesus?"
My responce, reflective in the parable, is: once you've traveled the road of truth for truth's sake and find the man Jesus, having found Truth Himself (John 14:6), you'll begin traveling the road for Christ's sake.
I don't think that Jesus was being "lyrical" when He made all those claims starting with, "I am..."
I love that you are willing to engage me in this dialog - what a great head and heart. Thank you.
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