Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to your dwelling place. – Psalm 43:3
Why does it seem that light and truth are so hard to find? In our world, it seems as though the bad news of the darkness, the dishonesty of leaders or potential leaders is all we ever hear about. Why do we as a society often forget to search for light?
There is a cartoon by Henry Kotula I’ve shared below. I believe it speaks to our dilemma with truth and light, It shows a crowd of people lined up to hear ‘comforting lies’ rather than anyone who would choose to hear an ‘unpleasant truth.’ To me, this represents how we as a society choose to live. The truth is not always easy, the light of God’s grace is not always easy to find. Following the command to love our neighbor as our self isn’t always our easiest course of action, and offering forgiveness to someone who has wronged us (whether we know them or not) is one of the most difficult things we might do. For these reasons and so many, many more, we often like to find those ‘comforting lies’ that make us feel better, because we can’t handle the truth.
The psalmists in another plea for help, asks for a divine intervention, that God would send the divine light of divine truth to be the guide to the presence of God. Each time I think of coming into the presence of God, or the kingdom of God, I’m reminded of Jesus words of how it is near to those who have learned to live in the command to love one another. I think, as unpleasant as that truth can be for us to swallow when we don’t like our neighbor or those we live with in community, it is a reminder that we need to plea for God’s guidance and help, we need to know God’s mercy as much as we need to offer it. For the light of God’s truth is found in understanding God’s love for all humankind, God’s offering of salvation for all, and Jesus call for us to love one another has he has first loved us.
May we strive for more truth, more light, more good, for us and for all in the name of Jesus.
Grace & Peace,
Sam