Have you ever met someone that appears profoundly sad much of the time?  Maybe it appears that there is an absence of joy… not just happiness, but joy (there is a difference)?  It is hard to watch someone be in this state when you know that God wants to give this person His joy, even in very difficult circumstances.  Christians understand this joy and often want to share it with others.  When I hear a deep sadness in people, I often wonder if the peace of God would bring joy to their Spirit.  Jesus says that He came to give us His joy… so I cannot help but believe that the peace of God would definitely bring joy to a joyless countenance.  I see a difference between those that truly know Christ, and those that either just know of Christ or have rejected Him altogether.  Those who truly know Christ seem to handle difficult circumstances in a much different way.  There is a joy that comes through even in the sadness and difficulties.  I cannot even explain this except to say that I am not the only Christ follower that I know who sees this difference too.  This is the drive for me… the drive to want to hold forth the Word of God to others so that they might know Jesus too… truly know Him.  That knowledge brings his peace (He says so…) and a joy (His joy…) and comfort beyond measure in our difficult circumstances.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

John 14:27

“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

John 15:11

When I hold forth the Word, I am holding forth the truth of God.  This truth comes with evidence.  We all know people who tell us that they are “telling us the truth”, and yet, the evidence does not seem to bear witness to that truth.  So, yes, there is a truth… and if it is truth, then the evidence will support it (whether or not we choose to believe it).  For instance, someone may tell me about an experience that they have been through, and it may be very, very difficult to believe.  However, if someone were to show me video coverage of that experience or provide me many witnesses who all say the same thing, I would then have the evidence needed to believe it.  So, at first, the truth was presented to me, and I didn’t believe.  That did not change the truth of the situation.  However, when the evidence became clear, then I could not possibly deny the truth.

The truth of Jesus Christ was presented to me in a similar way.  I did not grow up as a Christian.  I went to church pretty regularly, but I did not understand what being a Christian meant.  I knew of Jesus Christ and I believed there was a God.  I began to read the Bible when I was in my late 20s and there was significant evidence being presented to me of God’s true existence.  However, when I discovered what the Bible said about Jesus Christ being the Savior and the Son of God, and that He came to set me free from the shame of my sins, I was presented with evidence that I had not heard before.  The evidence for this truth built for several years as I read the Bible and found what it said about Jesus and God.  The evidence then became enough for me to believe the truth when Jesus Christ personally presented Himself to me as I confessed that I was a sinner and I wanted Him to take this shame from me.  He met me there… I physically felt His presence.

Of course, this physical presence of Jesus Christ with me cannot be an experience that I can share with others.  I did not have a video camera and no one could see this.  So, this experience is hard to use as evidence that the Bible is the Truth of God leading us to Jesus Christ as our savior from our sins.  However, I accepted this as truth and then was on a journey to find more evidence.  As I did, I began to share what evidence I found with pretty much anyone that would listen.  The truth became more and more evident to me.  I have been questioned about this truth over and over again.  As I go to search for the answers, even through my own skepticism, I find that there are always answers to the questions which support the truth that I have come to accept.  Of course, if someone were to show me evidence against the truth, I would have to reconsider.  However, that has not happened.  In fact, the more I search for evidence against this truth that I have come to accept, the more evidence I find for this truth.

So, what is my point in all of this?  If we find something to be true, and it changes our life for the better, we usually want to share that with others.  We do this with our health, our finances, where we live, new activities, and so on.  We usually cannot wait to share something that we find works well in our lives.  We also love to share what we think is true.  Isn’t that why Facebook is flooded with fact-checks?  Everyone wants to know whether or not they are being lied to.  We want the truth.  In fact, even habitual liars are angered when someone tells them a lie!  Isn’t that interesting?  So, why is truth so important to us?  That is another whole topic… somehow the desire to want the truth must be hardwired into us… and where does that hardwiring come from?  For me, the answer to that question is again further truth of the existence of God.

Anyhow, here is the point.  I have shared what I have found to be the truth with many, many people because I believe it is the truth.  God’s Word (as I found the Bible to be) tells us about God, about ourselves, about our relationship to God, and about our relationships with each other.  God’s Word addresses the big questions we all have about life.  When Jesus came to me, and God’s Word confirmed my experiences, my life changed.  My life is not always happy.  I have faced some really hard circumstances; we all do.  However, I have a peace and a joy even in all of that.  I have a hope that I see missing in so many others who do not hold to the truth that I have found.  Because I have found what I believe to be the truth, I hold it out to others and try to share with them.  I so want them to know the freedom that I have found.  I want them to experience life, and life abundantly (as Jesus calls it) so that they, too, have a peace and joy even in the difficult circumstances.  It is hard to watch people suffer… even harder when you believe you have the answer and they aren’t even open to hearing what you have to share with them… evidence and all.

Today, I feel like Paul must have felt.  “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16)  It is heart breaking that when we share the truth, people actually begin to hate us.  People tell me they don’t want to hear.  A distance begins to grow between the ones I love and me.  I have been cutoff many different ways… whether just on Facebook, or in person, or through no phone calls.  Regardless, my heart breaks… “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?”