by Betty
Once I thought that truth was found in doctrine. I ran around making sure everyone
understood the truth. The truth is in the scripture; this is true. But the simple knowledge of this did not keep me from sinning, and I knew that those who sin are lead by the devil. 1 John 3 taught me this. So I sought to be perfect. The more I tried, the more impossible I found it to be righteous without being hypocritical. So I found myself like Paul in Romans 7, and my heart smote me. “O! Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” “Lord, please make me real,” I cried in my distress. Then God, with compassion, looked down upon me and said, “Rest in me. Abide in me. Ye can do nothing unless ye abide in me. You must enter in to my rest.”
I received and accepted His invitation and labored to enter into His rest and hide
myself under His wings. Resting in Christ I realized all my works were in vain if they
were not wrought in Him. I rediscovered what I knew when I fist met Christ. The truth
is not doctrine, though doctrine may be true. The truth is Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Jesus tells us, “If ye continue (or abide) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Jesus came to free us from sin. Jesus said, “Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Jesus says in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” We may be mistaken if we make a teaching, doctrine, or a scripture verse our purpose in life, for we may lose sight of the truth that set us free. Church without Christ is just a highly esteemed club. Righteousness without Christ is filthiness before God. Life without Jesus is death no matter how much you may seem to enjoy it. We may know and love people who love Christ and live by their example, but if we do not know Jesus for ourselves, it will avail us nothing. All we'll have is a form of religion.
We must seek Jesus' face and know Him and His grace. We must read the Bible to know His word and wait on Him to reveal, or rather open, His words to our understanding. We must prefer His presence more than anything. When we abide and rest in Jesus, we will receive from Him all that we need to see us through this life. The truth truly sets us free.
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”--Augustine