But are we always REALLY searching?  Whose truth?  Do we really want to know it?

This morning as I enjoyed coffee and my Bible, I was reading through Mark 2. Jesus was at the beginning of His ministry, and yet was already facing opposition from the spiritual leaders of His time.  Jesus had just finished healing a young man. "Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that?  He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"   Mark 2:6-7.

At first glance, it looks like they had inquiring minds, truly seeking for Truth by observing Jesus with a spiritual discerning and critical eye.  But that's not what was really happening.  In fact, they revealed the truth of their hearts in these two simple verses.

First, they were not actually questioning.  They never actually asked Jesus for clarification.  The questions were a facade of being open to the truth. Second, they already formed their conclusions. By refraining clarification from Jesus, they could observe and conclude without any of the facts affecting their deductions.  In other words, their minds were made up.

I think we are all guilty of doing the very same thing.  We walk through life and make our own conclusions about God, about what He is doing or what He is not doing, based only on what makes sense to us.  However, this only leads to TRUE conclusions if we are Truth.  We know that we are NOT the source of all Truth. So when we form conclusions, if they are not based on the Word and lots of it, we are doomed to repeat the same mistake as these scribes- interpreting God, traveling down the pathway where that interpretation leads us and finding ourselves at the wrong destination.

Our conclusions, particularly about God and how He is at work in the world or our lives, has to be formed by first and foremost actually coming to God. Ask Him to guide the interpretation. Ask Him to show us what He is doing. And the primary way He does this is through His Word.  Read Scripture. Not a random verse to prove our point, else we do exactly what the scribes did. Read all of the Word and know it. Let it seep into our lives and change the way we see life. Read. Pray. Change. Honestly seek TRUTH- the One Who IS TRUTH.