Whom can we trust? This is a huge question. Have you noticed the lack of trust in institutions these days? So whom do we trust? We are always looking for the one person we can trust. In absence of an obvious candidate, we trust ourselves. So truth becomes our truth. The article we read becomes authoritative because we believe it.
This phenomenon is not new. John the Baptist was not sure he could trust Jesus. Ponder that. Luke tells us their relationship was prenatal. Baby John acknowledged baby Jesus when Elizabeth welcomed Mary into her home. John baptized Jesus. But at some point, even the great prophet and forerunner had his doubts. So John sent his men to ask Jesus, “Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?” What was John thinking? Perhaps, Jesus’ way of grace and kindness was not forceful enough for his cousin John.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, my friend Dr. David Peterson, pastor of a sister church in our community, was waiting with the rest of us for power to be restored to his house. Seeing an electric company truck on your street felt like Christmas. When he saw one in his neighborhood he asked the worker, “Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?” In other words, I know you can fix the problem but I doubt you are going to do it. Jesus reminded John of the evidence: healings, exorcisms. In fact, Jesus’ words point back to the words of his sermon at Nazareth.
What about today? Is there a standard for trustworthy truth? Yes. His name is Jesus. We can trust his words and his work. We return to the book to remember who Jesus is and what he said. When the foundations are being destroyed, we return to the One who said, “I am the Truth.” The Truth always tells us the truth. Trust him!
