Flannery O'Conner was right on so many levels when she paraphrased the scripture from John's gospel (8:32). The truth will make you odd in many ways and in many circles, even in and around church. Church-ey stuff revolves around tradition, habits, guidelines, history, rules, regulations, manuals, and oh, yeah, the teachings of the Bible. But if you look closely, shoot, you don't even have to look that close, Jesus was pretty non-conformist. His teachings really got under the skin of the religious establishment. They still do.
The truth can make you odd at church and I accept that. The non-conformist, the courteous rebel, as Dr. Nat Tracy used to call them, will forever be pointing out biblical truth, the effects of ministries or the lack of them on forgotten groups or the underdogs in our culture and the world. They will challenge us to think through actions and attitudes to make sure ministries are solidly grounded on the truth as revealed in scripture. In short, these courteous rebels are a pain in the soul. God bless 'em and may their tribe increase.
The truth doesn't just make you odd at church. It can really make you odd in the larger society. Truth about freedom, morality, justice, equality, bigotry, marriage, love, sex, abuse, spending, greed, addiction and a lot of other subjects we don't touch on much at church any more will make you odd. People like to be free to make their own choices with regard to all the above mentioned subjects. The odd thing about life is that if you choose wrongly, slavery and bondage is the result. In Romans 1: 25 talks about a group who practiced forms of idolatry and exchanged the truth of God for a lie. The results was bondage to shameful and sinful lifestyles. This pattern has been repeating itself since the garden of Eden. And so today, we are seeing the results of these patterns. Well, I'm not going to list them here, just read Romans 1:28-32 and note the words Paul uses as he describes what happens to people who have exchanged the truth for lies.
Be careful here, the point from Paul and my pointing these things out is not harsh judgement and finger pointing at "those people'' who have messed up things. The question is about how to move away from slavery and bondage, for that matter even harsh judmentalism, and into joy and freedom. Here are a few thoughts on that....
Remember what Jesus really said in John 8:31-32: If you hold to my teaching, your are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set (make) you free. Truth is found in Christ's teachings and following them. Then comes freedom. By the way, that's not a catch, but an invitation.
Remember also what Jesus said about Himself in John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Truth, you see, is not just prepositional, it is personal. We debate, argue, and interpret and re-interpret prepositional truth; we follow a the Person of Jesus and discover truth.
Commit yourself to the Truth. The Holy Spirit's job is to guide you into all truth (John 16:13-14). It has been our tradition not to allow ourselves to be led too well at times. When we commit ourselves to the hand of God's Spirit to move, make, re-arrange, add, subtract, multiply the attitudes of heart and mind know this: He will do it. He will show you the stuff of Ps. 139:23-24 as well as Jeremiah 33:3 (sorry, you know how this goes, you have to look them up yourself.) Be careful what you pray for but know the results will be true freedom.
Accept, nay embrace your oddness with which the mantle of truth has enveloped you. You will be at odds with accepted ways of doing life's business. Sometimes even at church. No need to be hurt as if you are persecuted as no one ever was before or haughty as if you had some special knowledge no one else has ever experienced. The truth will set you free and also give you peace. No need to fight in anger or react from wounded pride. We are told to speak the truth in love. We don't dictate the results, we trust that to the Lord.
Be humble with your new commitment to Truth. You and I will never have all of it to ourselves. We need Truth as others have learned it, experienced it, and lived it. This is a part of the joy of discovery.
We need Truth---not a dose, not a corrective, not a little, but unadulterated, undiluted, unabashed Truth that we love and live by, for and with. We have too often abandoned it for sentiment, nostalgia, acceptance from others and the world, popularity, success, power, and a hundred lesser gods. We need truth. It will make you odd but in this crazy world that's not a bad thing.
It will also make you free.
Cos
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