What is truth?

A Hole of Thunder

It was Sunday, August 23, 2009. A fierce Hurricane, Hurricane Bill, pounded the coast of Mount Desert Island, in the state of Maine. Despite the inclement conditions, tourists came in droves to hear the resounding BOOMS that reverberated from Thunder Hole.

Thunder Cove is a small cove, naturally carved out of rock. At the end of this cove, down at the low tide mark, a small cavern can be found. When waves rush it, the air and water in the cavern are forced out with a loud BOOM, sounding much like the peal of distant thunder. Given the correct weather conditions, the water can spout up from the cavern, sometimes reaching a height of 40 feet.

And Hurricane Bill brought together just the correct conditions for the loudest booms and the highest spouts of water.

Warning signs were posted everywhere, counseling tourists to stay away from Thunder Hole in these conditions. Not everyone was inclined to listen to these warnings however, and many tourists could be found at the lower end of the lookout where you could best see and hear the water clapping through the cavern. And with so many people already down there, it only encouraged more tourists to ignore the warnings. After all, how could all of those people be wrong?

That is what a certain father with his two girls thought. Until he and his two girls were swept over the rail, that is, out into the stormy Atlantic Ocean.

In the icy water, the father and the girls battled for their lives. They were eventually rescued by the courageous Coast Guard, however the seven-year old later died from the trauma.

If only they hadn’t followed the crowd!

I know of one whose specializes in lies. He carves his lies so cleverly around half-truths that many fall prey to his insinuations. Sadly, most of the world believes his lies rather than the One who is called “the truth”!

“He (The evil one) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44 NIV)

His lies have only one goal: “The thief (The evil one) comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10 NIV)

The truth is that “no lie comes from the truth.” (1 John 2:21 NIV) If a truth is even compromised in the tiniest way, it is no longer truth! However, more often than not, we simply bury our heads in the sand and accept his lies as truth.

Many “suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:18 NIV) by their actions, and because of this they cannot fathom the reality of God’s Holy Spirit in their midst.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17 NIV)

And if they cannot accept God’s Spirit, they won’t be able to accept His Word either!

We cannot, I repeat, we cannot flirt with lies without being contaminated by them. It will change our perspective on life, and it will lead us to live a life grounded on untruth.

Many so-called specialists in religion also specialize in lies. If we do not stand by the truth, we will find ourselves easily swept in the churning ocean! The apostles warned us about these liars:

“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” (1 John 1:6 NIV)

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 NIV)

“The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4 NIV)

“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.” (1 John 2:22 NIV)

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all.” (Gal 1:6-7 NIV)

We either stand on the truth, or we let ourselves be swept away by deception.

It sure looks tempting to hear the loud clap of thunder amidst the stormy elements, but in all reality, is it worth risking our lives?

Rob Chaffart

Part 3