A church leader asks worshippers to move toward the center of the pews to alleviate space concerns. He lets us know that neighboring churches had moved from the truth. I cringe as he announces, “Since we stand for the truth, we will continue to attract new members.”

Ouch! I wondered if a series on “Humility and How I Obtained Greatness,” would be the next announcement. God spared me.

I find us humans to be rather selective as we attempt to make truth a commodity. It is as if truth consists of a + b + c and nothing else. Of course I select a, b, and c, and declare them truth while your formula is d + e + f = truth.

We play loose with truth. We play truth games.

Doctrine is a poor method of defining truth.

Truth is alive. It is never a set of do’s and don’ts. Doctrine is a dead end if I am looking for truth.

We want to sell our truth formulas without Jesus.

John is a fisherman.

Unlike the fame of those who follow fishing for a hobby, he tells the truth. Called from the boat to follow Jesus, John becomes a disciple, an apostle, an author, an elder, and a martyr. He died for the truth. The truth he died to uphold was Jesus.

In his gospel and his letters, John equates Jesus with truth over 20 times. Jesus declared himself to be truth. Jesus said, “I am truth.”

Jesus enters the world embodying God’s grace and truth.

Since He is the very definition of truth, Jesus might be a good place to begin the search (dry humor intended). Whatever truth I reach having to do with life, worship, and eternity must exist in the solid rock of Jesus as truth.

Here is what I am thinking. I find Truth in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as they witness the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Any truth I hold dear must be in the Gospels.

This is the way I am beginning to understand Scripture: The Bible is the story of God restoring the garden mess of Satan. The Old Testament points to Jesus and the Gospels. The remainder of the New Testament shows Jesus living in His church.

For reasons I cannot fathom, God is doing this for the likes of you and me. He wants us to live with Him forever.

Here is how I would re-script the church leader’s announcement:

We all need your help this morning. If it’s convenient, I need a favor. It will help others if we would all move toward the center of the pews to alleviate space concerns. At this church, we are on a journey to follow Jesus. We believe He is the source of truth for our lives. It is our desire to welcome others to join with us on this journey.

Don’t you think God, His son, and the Spirit would glow with pride if Christians made this announcement at churches around the world next Sunday instead of another re-run of Truth Games?

Stay tuned.

Gary J. Sorrells on Cross Church