A Standard for Truth

I heard a simple, but profound, illustration about truth today. Dr. Tony Evans said a man stopped at his friend’s house on the way back from a fishing trip. He jumped out of the car and excitedly exclaimed that he had just caught a 20-pound fish. His friend smiled and disappeared into the house. He came back out with a scale and said, “Let’s see.”
The man with the fish said, “Well, it may not weigh quite 20 pounds.”
Truth has a tendency to be a little flexible unless there is a standard. I think many people today reject the idea of final truth because they like the idea of bending what they think it should be around their own agendas. My truth isn’t necessarily your truth; we all find our own truth if there is no standard.
But God said there is a standard. He himself is that standard (John 14:6). He is holding the plumb line by which all truth – and all behavior – is measured. He holds the scale.
Because there is the standard for truth, we can measure goodness and evil. We can weigh our lives by it. We can measure our attitudes by it. We can live with confidence that what God says is true. We can build our lives on his promises. We can trust God.
Some days we may doubt or question God because of our limited understanding, but when we believe his word is true, his promises are solid, and his standard for our good is not flexible, we can live full of hope. We can believe our lives have meaning and purpose. Jesus said we will know the truth if we hold to his teaching – and it will set us free.