Friday, February 9

Truth and Testimony

Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Kace Leetch from Clergy Stuff.

Jesus is still striving to clarify his role in God's plan for those who struggle to believe. The people listened to John when his words were easy to hear, but they stopped listening when John proclaimed Jesus as the one God had sent to save the world. They look for truth in scripture, but they miss the truth about him -- that God would send him into the world one day. That day has arrived. Jesus is here.

And the validity of Jesus' testimony can be tested against its own words. Is Jesus proclaiming glory for himself? No. Is he proclaiming glory for God? Yes. Still, they struggle to believe.

We live in a world with so many voices, it can be hard to discern God's word from the noise. It can be difficult to separate truth from fiction. How much truth is posted on Facebook? How much of God's word comes to us through Netflix? (I'm not hating on those -- I love a good binge-watch as much as anyone!) If we are not getting much truth or gospel from those places, then where will we get them? Will you seek God's word in the Bible? Can you receive the testimony of others when you gather face-to-face? And maybe, just maybe, you might share your own truth and connection on your Instagram. God's word is out there. God's truth is alive and well. Maybe it just takes some discernment for us to see it clearly.

Narrative Lectionary Text: John 5:30-47

‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’