Seeking and finding what is true
As Christians, we are seekers of truth. We are seekers of the truth that Christ Jesus taught. We are all followers of the way of Truth that Christ Jesus, the great Exemplar, pointed out to his disciples. So, let’s start with a well-known and beloved statement from Jesus, found in the Gospel of John:
“… ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
Now, with this high and lofty concept or principle, you could even call it a promise, we’re going to bring it down to earth by examining the whole sentence in which it is found. Here is the whole sentence:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and …
“… ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.”
So, as Christians, we learn from Jesus, by his teaching and example, that accepting his discipleship is not a one-time event. Discipleship is an ongoing way of life requiring continuous study and growth in the Christian graces. This latter element, “growth in grace,” is what I would like to focus on here.
Could we be so bold as to say, we are best able to “know the Truth” in proportion as we imbibe the spirit of Truth, our love for God and man – the deep-down desire in our heart to know good, see good, be good, and do good?”
When it comes to “continuing in his word,” what were Jesus’ teachings and commands all about? Weren’t they about what it means to love and the many ways it is naturally expressed? Just look at the Sermon on the Mount! It’s full of love. It’s all about the many expressions of divine Love – God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for our fellow man.
The good news is that we all, naturally, already, have this love in our hearts. We are now living in the age of the new Covenant, whereby the law of God, the law of divine Love, is written in our hearts.
That law is the truth that, “we can never be separated from the love of God.” That is the truth that we shall all know, from the least of us unto the greatest.
We are learning that whenever we are aware of someone in need, the Christ must already be there! When we go to visit, our purpose is to be joyful and faithful witnesses of the truth of God’s inseparable, universal, and impartial love for us all. Whomever we are going to see will always be a “loved one” – one loved by God!
Love for God and man does not just stay in our hearts. This love is naturally, openly, irresistibly, and practically expressed in sympathy, compassion, comfort, and healing. Love and Love’s natural expression always go together. They are not separate from each other.
Here are two interesting examples of this point from the Bible’s New Testament.
In the Gospel of Mark, we read about a man that came running to Jesus and knelt down to him, and asked how he might inherit eternal life. After some discussion about the man’s observance of the commandments throughout his life, here is how the story concluded:
“Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved:”(Mark 10:21)
The second example is from Paul’s beloved sermon on “Love is Kind” found in his first epistle to the Corinthians. In the opening verses of his sermon, he makes an interesting observation:
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [also translated as “love” in other Bible versions], it profiteth me nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:3)
Here are some questions that might arise as we compare these two citations.
Could it be that Jesus noticed, that even though the young man had kept the letter of the law, it was the unselfish affections that were lacking?
Can a righteous man truly observe the rules of love for God and man without expressing common humanity and common sense? And, especially when it comes to inheriting eternal life, giving all he’s got?
On the other hand, Paul reveals that you can give all you personally or materially possess. But is it of any spiritual consequence to oneself if that outward act of giving is not a natural outpouring of compassion and a yearning to see God’s love for His dear children – in action?
I find it quite interesting that the focus of these examples, and others like them, is not on the benefits received by the needy and that they need us. But on what is in the heart of the one coming to give. It’s almost as if it's not about the giving, per se, as much as it is the motive of the one coming to the scene of need. Are we coming to personally give something to someone who has not?
Or, are we coming to be faithful witnesses to the grace of God, the ever-present and all-powerful great Giver, and to be used by Him with whatever we have? The outward appearance of the act may look the same in both cases. But the difference is what’s in the heart. That difference is what makes a ministry of comfort and healing. It’s the humility and unselfed love that Jesus expressed in his own words (this is from the New Living Translation),
“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”
Would not “continuing” in the word of Christ Jesus, mean a fervent desire for growth in the Christian graces – the “fruit of the Spirit” that Paul talks about in his epistle to the Galatians?
“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22, 23)
Would not these graces be the spirit of Truth that we are to imbibe in order to know the truth – that truth that makes us free from sin, sickness, and death? And could the spirit of Truth ever be separated from its natural, irresistible, and practical manifestations in our lives and others – its “Christlike touch?”
In a little book of poetry published in 1885, entitled, “He Giveth Songs,” is a religious poem by Anna Elizabeth Hamilton, which speaks to the heart and purpose of Christian fellowship ministry. The title of this poem is “Sympathy.”
”Ask God to give thee skill In comfort's art:
That thou may'st consecrated be And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy.
For heavy is the weight of ill In every heart;
And comforters are needed much, Of Christlike touch.”
I first came upon this poem when reading Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Retrospection and Introspection. It was the closing narrative. No doubt, Mrs. Eddy was also touched by the tender message of Christian fellowship that this poem expresses.
She also writes in her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:
“The physician who lacks sympathy for his fellow-being is deficient in human affection, and we have the apostolic warrant for asking: “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Not having this spiritual affection, the physician lacks faith in the divine Mind and has not that recognition of infinite Love which alone confers the healing power.” (S&H 366:12–19)
Here’s another important point about Jesus' teachings on Christian fellowship. Those who saw the need had sympathy and compassion for their fellow man. And knowing that God was the great Giver, they listened for the call should God need the gifts they had received from Him. They were ready to be used by Love with whatever they had, humanely and spiritually. This speaks to the ministry of Christian fellowship. In the words from The First Epistle General of John, “truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (I John 1:3)
And, if we may borrow these phrases from Mrs. Eddy, we too have been “brought together to minister and to be ministered unto; mutually to aid one another in finding ways and means for helping the whole human family …” (Mis 98:9–16)