Unfiltered truth

Everyone committed to the truth listens to me (John 18:37).

All of us use filters. If you have forced air heat or central AC, there’s a filter that keeps dust from blowing through your house. If you make coffee, you use a filter to keep the grounds from getting into your cup. Cars have oil, air and gas filters to keep out contaminants and improve engine performance.

We also use filters when we read or listen to ideas. A Republican and a Democrat can both listen to the same news program, yet react to it in very different ways. One might believe that the story was reported fairly, while the other is angered by obvious bias. Whenever new scientific findings are announced, some embrace the evidence as truth, while others question the report and push for further study.

When we hear or read something, we filter it through our experiences. If you’ve been lied to in the past, you’re not likely to take what people say at face value. The amount of taxes that you pay and the age of your children may very well affect what you think about a school district’s request for an opt-out. People might have good ideas and fine intentions, but sometimes a gut reaction closes our ears to much of what’s being said.

We also use a filter when someone starts talking about religion. Maybe your filter is that you don’t like organized religion. Maybe your filter is that you can’t trust religious fanatics. Maybe your filter is that religion is private matter that people shouldn’t discuss, because it only leads to fights. Whatever your filter is, it strains out some of the message, blocking the parts that you don’t want to hear.

Can we put the filters aside for just a moment? No matter what you think of organized religion or religious people, the message of Christ deserves to be heard and understood:

I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus was and is the Son of God, who lived on earth in a human body. He died on a cross and was buried, then rose from the grave and returned to His Father in heaven. Jesus lived to teach you about God. Jesus suffered and died on your behalf; God punished Him for your sins so that you might be forgiven. Jesus rose from the dead to prove His power to raise you from the grave, and bring you into God’s kingdom to live forever. That is the unfiltered truth.