The world today is unfiltered, and we are left to sort out truth. Things sound true, but when we look deeper, we find they are not true.
In the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about 2 Corinthians 4:3-4and what St. Paul calls the “veil of non-belief” that some people experience in their journey to faith. A related problem for all of us who struggle in our faith is listening to what sounds like truth, but in fact is really not true. This is what happened to Eve in the garden. The serpent, who was craftier than any other beast, approached her with an argument that sounded good, but resulted in her undoing (Genesis 3:1-7). Eve, even though she knew that God told them not to eat the fruit or they would die, for some reason believed the specious argument of Satan when he told her she would not die, but would become like a god, knowing good and evil.
What Satan told her was partially true, because after they ate the forbidden fruit, they did know good and evil. The lie was that they would not die. In this story, deception seems to have ruled the day with Eve. The ancient problem of succumbing to the deceptions of unscrupulous others has troubled mankind through the ages. It was with the Apostles, as they established the early church. In Colossians 2:4 Paul told the Colossians he wished their hearts to be strengthened, so that no one would delude them with specious arguments. The word “specious” means something that appears good or right, though it lacks merit and is deceptive[1].
This can seem very frustrating to those of us who are on a faith journey, with so many unfiltered voices with the explosion of the internet, how are we supposed to recognize truth? The answer lies in how God created us. He created us for truth, and if we follow God, we can recognize truth.
Jesus addresses some Jews with this same problem of discerning truth in the Gospel of John. He talks about the ability of believers to recognize truth in His voice in John 10:27, when He was asked if He was the Messiah by these Jews in the temple. He told them He had already answered them, and they did not believe, because they were not His sheep. He said “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow Me.” The Greek word “hear” in this passage, akouo, means to understand as well as to hear.
Jesus is truth, and when He speaks, believers recognize the ring of truth in His words. If you feel you are under a fog, a veil of unbelief, or just cannot discern truth, then seek, pray, take a leap into faith. When you hear the voice of Christ, you will recognize the sweet ring of truth.
[1]Dictionary.com, specious, accessed 2/2/1019.
