Do you want to play a game with me? How about Truth or Consequences? You can choose to speak the truth or accept some unpleasant consequences. I don’t like this game; and neither do you. But we play a version of this game all our lives.
When I am asked a question, I answer truthfully. Usually. When the question is personal I tend to be less than forthcoming. I qualify and nuance my answers. I lie a little. I go into protection mode. I do not want to be exposed. I hide behind my wall. There are shades and degrees of truth, aren’t there? What am I really doing? Why am I so afraid of the truth – the truth about me? I am hiding the truth from you, and even from myself. I even try to hide the truth about who I am from God. Why? Why do we do that? What are we afraid of? Why does the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth scare us so? Because we are guilty and ashamed..
I love to escape with Science Fiction. Several futuristic Sci fi shows have as a major theme mankind making machines in their own image that rise up and seek to destroy their makers. Terminator, Battlestar Gallactica, and others. We create in our own image and our image seeks to destroy us. Sound familiar?
What are we afraid of? Ourselves. The evil that remains within us. We want to be known and loved. But we fear that if we are known we will not be loved. We don’t even love ourselves, why would someone else love us? If they knew, they would hate me – justly. So, we hide. We sew fig leaves to cover ourselves, we blame others for our problems and failures. It terrifies us to be known. But, we still want to be loved. So we lie about ourselves. But midnight is coming, Cinderella.
Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God and blamed someone else when they were confronted. We are truly the children of Adam and Eve.
But the gospel tells us that we can be fully known and truly loved. Our warts, our failures, our sins, can be exposed, and we can still be loved. This love is not earned, it is freely given. Our guilt and shame are known, and dealt with in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. This love transforms us.
So, let’s play Truth or Consequences? Can you accept the truth about your sin and God’s free salvation, or will you continue to hide and suffer the consequences in silence? Come to the light, breathe the fresh air of grace. Be yourself in the presence of a holy God – and be unafraid.