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What’s Your Truth?

By Chelsea Seaton

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.” –John 18:38

I was sitting in the salon chair getting a crash course on what hair products to use on my frizzy red hair. Now, you should know that hair is not my thing. Actually, nothing in the beauty industry is my thing. Hair, makeup, trendy clothes, none of it. I would rather be in running shorts, a T-shirt, and flip flops. “You’ll want to apply this to your ends,” my hairdresser instructed. Trying to learn, I asked, “Okay, so I put it up here?” pointing to my scalp. She chuckled and asked, “Is that where you think your ends are?” I then learned that I was pointing to my roots, and the literal ends of my hair are my ends. Which does make perfect sense, but again, hair is not my thing. We had a good laugh that I thought the roots were my ends, and I jokingly said to her, “Well, that’s my truth. My ends are actually up here.”

We hear a lot about truth these days. Your truth, our truth, follow your truth, that’s my truth—there’s a lot of talk about truth! It’s easy to think all this talk about truth and allowance for multiple things to be true is a new idea brought on by me and my fellow millennials, but “What is truth?” is not a new question.

In John 18, Jesus is betrayed and arrested, and now He stands trial before Pilate, the Roman governor. Only the Romans could condemn someone to death, so the Pharisees needed Pilate to find Jesus guilty. The conversation begins with Pilate asking Jesus if He is king of the Jews. If Jesus says yes, then it could be seen as a revolt against the Roman emperor, and Pilate could, according to their law, easily find Jesus guilty and move on with his day. But Jesus, not one to be trapped by a question, responds with another question. He essentially says, “Did someone tell you to ask Me that? Or are you, Pilate, seeking truth and want to know if I’m king of this world and who I say I am?” (see verse 34). Pilate responds defensively and asks Jesus what He did to be put on trial. As the dialogue continues, Jesus presents the gospel to Pilate and shares that His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. He was born into this world to tell people the truth and everything He says is the truth. Pilate then responds with that familiar question, “What is truth?”

Truth is something we inherently seek. It makes us feel safe and secure. It gives us purpose and meaning. We want to know what is true of this world, what is true of God, and what is true of ourselves. With everyone seeking truth and all of us carrying our own perspective, it’s no wonder we have so much “truth” floating around. If we’re going to know the real truth, then there needs to be only onesource, or what is called “absolute truth.” That is not a well-received phrase nowadays. We live in a world (and incidentally, so did Pilate) that says, “Believe whatever you want. Whatever is true and real to you can be true.” But that’s not how Jesus saw and taught things. In John 14:6–7 (NLT), Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Jesus said there’s one truth—the Truth—and it’s Him! When we’re seeking what is true about this world, we can read the words of Jesus and see the world as He did. When we’re seeking what is true of God, we can look at Jesus, and He shows us the Father. When we’re seeking what is true about ourselves, we see what Jesus says about us and believe what is true.

When you find yourself calling your roots your ends, or your ends your roots, and wondering what in the world is true, look to Jesus. He shows us what is absolutely true, and we can trust Him. Jesus is our source and guide to true abundant life.

Prayer

Jesus, show me what is true today. Please expose any lies I’m believing and speak the truth to me. Help me to walk in Your ways and show Your love to everyone I encounter today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

For Further Reflection

• Reflect on the truth you’re seeking. Maybe you’re wanting to know what is true about you or a situation. Today, ask Jesus what is true and allow Him to speak to you.
• What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Is there an area of your life where you’re not walking in God’s truth? Allow His truth to lead you to new life in that area.

Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?