Responding to The Truth

III John 1:3-4 (NLT)3 Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

The opposite of "following the truth" is to follow deception. It seems to be very easy to deceive the adamic nature. The pull to be successful, be admired, have comfort and pleasure may be the exchange for truth. We are advised by Scriptures to buy the truth and sell it not. We must first realize the price of truth and the value of truth or we may easily exchange it and so lose the path of truth. Jesus did not pander to our human desire to have things explained or reasoned out. He simply said, "Follow Me." The Spirit within Jesus drew the disciples to leave everything and follow Him. Jesus also said that we have not chosen Him, but He chose us. That truth is a pearl of great price. It is cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving. But along the way, there is great temptation to choose comfort and ease rather than struggle to stay in the Way. Human nature rises to take over and we begin to reason out why it is good to "rest" rather than follow. I sometimes think there is no greater deception than self deception.

Self righteousness is a self-deception. Galatians 6:3 (NASB)For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Truth demands a carefulness and attention to what we say and how we react so the human nature does not divert us from the way of harm, either to ourselves or others. James 1:26-27 (NLT) 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

I know that it is common for anyone who dies to "be looking down on us", and every funeral speaks of going to heaven, but do not be deceived, the unrighteous do not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT) 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

To live in Truth is to live in Jesus!