Reader, are you a person of truth? I’m not merely asking if you tell the truth when asked a question (although that is important), but does the entirety of your life conform to the truth?
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that both by His confession and the example of His life and ministry, He was the embodiment of truth. Everything He thought, felt, said, and did was absolute truth. Unlike our tendencies for hypocrisy, blatant lies, and deception, Jesus only always knows how to wear one face… and that is the face of truth.
I was reminded of this in a pretty potent way while recently reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 10, verses 17 through 31. This is the story of the rich young ruler who wanted to follow Jesus. In verse 21, we read, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’” I’d encourage you to read the story for yourself to get the full context.
Did you catch what were probably the two most essential words in the verse? You see, we often focus on the rich young ruler’s zeal to follow Jesus or His sense of self-righteousness or Jesus’ call for him to give up his wealth and care for the poor; but did you catch what Mark says that Jesus was doing by sharing this tough truth with him? It says, “(He) loved him.” Jesus spoke truth to this man, which turned him away (or at least, that’s all we read in the story), but still, as He acted in love, He spoke the truth, even hard truth. Jesus could have pandered to this young man trying to gain some advantage because of the man’s wealth, but Jesus loved him and his disciples far too much to abandon the truth.
A commitment to truth is not merely being principled. It isn’t just being stubborn and unwilling to budge on an issue. It is loving to be a person of truth. The scriptures very clearly communicate this, and we see it constantly put on display in Jesus’ life and ministry and the lives and ministries of His Apostles.
I leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:14-15, “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the Living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Alex Brown
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The Reformed Life 
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