Grounded In Truth
Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
As I sit and contemplated the message series, the meaning of trust and how it applies to my life reminds me of an agreement my wife and I made regarding our daughter, Maeve, and how we raise her.
If Maeve has a question about something (It could be anything. She’s three so… literally anything), we vowed that we will do everything in our ability to tell her the absolute truth, no matter how difficult it is to explain. Our hope is that we will create space for her to understand what it means to trust other people, us, and ultimately, God. If we can’t stand on truth, then what can we stand on?
JOURNAL: When in your life have you avoided the truth? What was the outcome? Was the truth eventually revealed?
If Maeve looks at me while we’re sitting at a restaurant and asks, “Daddy, why is that chair red?” and I take the easy route and respond by saying, “Because that’s just what the color of the chair is” or “Not right now,” then she’ll continue to wonder why the chair is red. That may even trigger a subconscious thought of “Why can’t I trust my dad to tell me the truth?”
An even worse response to her question would be a lie because I think she needs an entertaining answer. “That’s just the color that the color fairies thought that chair should be!”
In a few years, she will grow up and realize that color fairies don’t exist and wonder why I lied to her. Either way, mistrust begins to form between us, leading to me letting her down.
ACTIVATION: Work on grounding yourself in truth. Don’t understand something? Do research and/or go to therapy. Fight for the ultimate truth.
One of my personal goals in life is to be the best role model I can be for my kids, but the reality is that we are human and will let our kids down at some point. The good news is that we don’t have to be perfect. Jesus was the only perfect human being, and He is the ultimate role model. Just like Jesus told the truth, regardless of the cost, we are also called to do the same - as parents, friends, spouses, etc. No matter how big or small the situation may seem, we are to be obedient to God by being as truthful as we can and applying the way of Jesus to our lives. Let’s take the Bible for example. Some things in the Bible are hard to understand or hard to talk about and explain, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is the ultimate truth. When Maeve asks me why the chair at the restaurant is red, it may be difficult to explain to her that the owners probably picked that color because they thought it would be best for their store; but in the end, she gets a satisfying answer, grounded in truth.
PRAYER: God, reveal to me the truths that You want me to know. Help me understand what it means to be truthful with others and myself. Just as Jesus went the extra mile to explain truths to people, help me do the same so that I can be obedient to Your commands.
As I sit and contemplated the message series, the meaning of trust and how it applies to my life reminds me of an agreement my wife and I made regarding our daughter, Maeve, and how we raise her.
If Maeve has a question about something (It could be anything. She’s three so… literally anything), we vowed that we will do everything in our ability to tell her the absolute truth, no matter how difficult it is to explain. Our hope is that we will create space for her to understand what it means to trust other people, us, and ultimately, God. If we can’t stand on truth, then what can we stand on?
JOURNAL: When in your life have you avoided the truth? What was the outcome? Was the truth eventually revealed?
If Maeve looks at me while we’re sitting at a restaurant and asks, “Daddy, why is that chair red?” and I take the easy route and respond by saying, “Because that’s just what the color of the chair is” or “Not right now,” then she’ll continue to wonder why the chair is red. That may even trigger a subconscious thought of “Why can’t I trust my dad to tell me the truth?”
An even worse response to her question would be a lie because I think she needs an entertaining answer. “That’s just the color that the color fairies thought that chair should be!”
In a few years, she will grow up and realize that color fairies don’t exist and wonder why I lied to her. Either way, mistrust begins to form between us, leading to me letting her down.
ACTIVATION: Work on grounding yourself in truth. Don’t understand something? Do research and/or go to therapy. Fight for the ultimate truth.
One of my personal goals in life is to be the best role model I can be for my kids, but the reality is that we are human and will let our kids down at some point. The good news is that we don’t have to be perfect. Jesus was the only perfect human being, and He is the ultimate role model. Just like Jesus told the truth, regardless of the cost, we are also called to do the same - as parents, friends, spouses, etc. No matter how big or small the situation may seem, we are to be obedient to God by being as truthful as we can and applying the way of Jesus to our lives. Let’s take the Bible for example. Some things in the Bible are hard to understand or hard to talk about and explain, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is the ultimate truth. When Maeve asks me why the chair at the restaurant is red, it may be difficult to explain to her that the owners probably picked that color because they thought it would be best for their store; but in the end, she gets a satisfying answer, grounded in truth.
PRAYER: God, reveal to me the truths that You want me to know. Help me understand what it means to be truthful with others and myself. Just as Jesus went the extra mile to explain truths to people, help me do the same so that I can be obedient to Your commands.
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