The Love of the Truth

With recent developments in my illness, I feel it would not be claiming too much to say that I am speaking as a dying man. It raises the question for me, What would I most want to say to younger Christians, and even to unbelievers?

One thing that would be near the top of the list is to urge them to obtain a love of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10). In 2 Thessalonians, this expression is entwined in a very threatening passage about the deception and destruction of those who do not receive a love of the truth. It is clear from this passage that the alternative to a love of the truth is delusion and damnation.

The way to escape this is to have and maintain the love of the truth. Do not shrink away when the Word of God tells you the truth about yourself and about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Receive it, love it, embrace it, and hold it fast. There is a tang and flavour about the truth of God. It is fresh, uncloying, health-giving. Learn to love it, and hold on to it with all your strength. You will recognize it wherever you come across it. Follow it. It does not flatter you or excuse your sins. It tells you how to be saved from those sins.

The love of the truth is your friend, your truest friend. Do not slight it, but cultivate it. Listen to it more than to men. Then you will not be deceived. You will see right through delusion and deception. It shows you Jesus Christ. This is what I would want to do with my dying breath: point to him, and cry, 'Behold, the Lamb of God.'