Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31–32 (RSV)
How do we know when something is true? What are the measures by which we can determine that a thing is true? Many voices compete for the place of 'the truth' in our lives; it becomes a challenge to discern the truth.
Or do we accept the current view that there are many truths which we can subscribe to and have in our lives? Here truth is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope, never the same, changing as the situation demands. This fits a world where the individual is the measure of our humanity, each possessing their truth. Though it fits the spirit of the age, is it enough of the truth to stand the generations to come?
We are unique individuals created in the image of God. The witness of Scripture affirms this. There has never been a person like ourselves, nor will there ever be one like us in the ages to come. Yes, we are an individual. That is where the evil one would have us stop. The temptation in the Garden was to stand apart from God to be our own god.
When we wish to be the divine center of our lives as if we are the truth, we lose the truth, but ourselves as well. We become enslaved to whatever whim of culture or fashion is driving human hearts. It may stand for a time, but like the changing seasons, this truth does not hold. It cannot last for its source is the feeble flesh and blood of humans.
The only truth that lasts beyond the ages, beyond the ending of time and all things, is Jesus, the only Son of our eternal Father. We are joined to the living Body of Christ, there we find our truth, but our lives lived in His truth.