Why do you go to church? (part four)

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior (Psalm 25:5).

Why do you go to church?  I hope that it’s because you want to know the truth.  The truth is something solid you can cling to when emotions tug you this way and that.  The truth gives you confidence when you are confronted with falsehood and things that don’t make any sense.  The truth provides security because knowledge is power.

Jesus said, the truth will set you free (John 8:32).  What is the truth?  That we are God’s children, ruined by sin but forgiven by Jesus.  What does the truth free us from?  The guilt of wrongdoing and God’s punishment in hell.  This truth has power—power to change lives from a wasteful pursuit of self-gratification to lives that honor God and serve one another in love. 

Religion is about seeking the truth.  The truth can make you feel good, but not always—we don’t enjoy being told that we are sinners who make God angry, but there is joy in knowing the forgiveness made possible by Jesus on the cross.  The truth tells us much, but it doesn’t answer every question—we wonder why God did this or allowed that to happen, but ultimately we know enough to trust in His power and wisdom, His love and His kindness.  The truth feeds our need for a connection with the divine, even though we sometimes struggle to understand what the Lord says to us—thankfully, despite our limited ability to absorb and process heavenly truths, God makes sure that His message of salvation speaks clearly to all who listen with an open mind. 

Truth does not change, regardless of how you feel about it.  Truth remains true, whether you fully understand it or not.  Our world is covered with a slippery mud of lies and ever-changing stories; truth reveals the God who does not change, whose promises can be depended on, whose love and mercy offer peace and security. 

Musician Peter Schikele once said, “Truth is truth—you can’t have opinions abut truth.”  Of course, people constantly argue about who is telling the truth.  We need an unimpeachable source of truth, and that person is Christ Jesus, the only Son of God.  He said, I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).  Through Jesus we have access to the truth that sets us free.  This reason, first and foremost, is why you should go to church.