Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Touchstones

Your word is truth (John 17:17).

Years ago, a black stone called basanite was used to identify precious metals. In order to test gold, you would rub it against the basanite; the color of the streak left on the black rock would prove whether you truly had a precious metal or merely "fool’s gold." Because of this use, basanite came to be called "touchstone." Since those earlier times, the word touchstone has come to mean any test or criterion by which the qualities of something else are examined. The touchstone is the one thing that you can always count on to reveal the truth.

We desperately need touchstones in our lives. State inspectors certify gas pumps because we fear being shortchanged by the oil companies. Nursing homes undergo certification reviews because we fear cover-ups of substandard care being given to our loved ones. Corporations have their books audited because we fear management misreporting profits to manipulate stock prices. Every day, we look to touchstones of one sort or another to reassure us that what we are being told is indeed true. But in a world of imperfect people who make mistakes both accidentally and deliberately, how can we have any real security? When we employ people to serve as our touchstones, how can we feel confident that they themselves will not be dishonest with us? Is there anyplace we can go for unimpeachable truth?

There is one touchstone that can always be relied upon as we struggle to make sense of life. That touchstone has been given to us by none other than God Himself. That touchstone is the Holy Bible. The Bible is God’s own words set down in human language. Praying to His heavenly Father, Jesus said: Your word is truth.

In a world that can’t tell right from wrong, God’s word is truth. In a world where freedom has been divorced from accountability, God’s word is truth. In a world that claims there is no God, or that God cannot be known, or that all religions are different ways to approach the same God, God’s word is truth. The Holy Bible is the eternal, unchanging message of the eternal, unchanging God, words of truth written in black and white that stand in stark contrast to the confusing grayness of a world that does not want to admit that there are such things as moral absolutes. The Bible is the one and only touchstone that you can use with assurance that it will always reveal what is pure and truly beautiful.

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