Truth

"Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt.  It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst and that I had struggled out into unhoped for liberty."

-Jane Eyre

If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word has no place in our lives.

-1 John 1:6-10

Honesty becomes me
theres nothing left to lose
The secrets that did run me
in your presence are defused

Pride has no position
and riches have no worth
The fame that once did cover me
Has been sentenced to this earth

-DC Talk, In the Light

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

-1 Corinthians 13:6

There is something so completely freeing about just speaking the truth.  The funny thing about it is, most of the time we are so terrified to tell the truth that we can never fully realize how much easier it would be to just let go of the lies that control our lives in the first place.  We tell ourselves lies daily -- these become our insecurities.  We look in the mirror and lie to ourself that what we see back isn't beautiful or thin or worth anyone's time.  We may take something a person says to us, be it joke or serious, and let it marinate in our minds and convince ourselves that we just aren't good enough.

We lie to God, to friends, to people we may not even know.  I love how sometimes I think I'm smart enough to lie to God.  "Okay Elizabeth, small issue here...God sees everything you do!!"  But even when I mess up I just have to be honest with him.  It's easy to sweep it under the rug, pretend like it never happened, and maybe even convince a part of ourselves that whatever it was just never existed.

God will always love you no matter how long it takes you to admit the truth, but people usually don't.  It's easy to spot a liar most of the time.  You know that girl at school that had pin straight hair but swore she never straightened her hair was probably stretching the truth.  That's just a goofy example, but when your repeatedly lie to friends, no matter how much they may love you, they'll eventually see through the act and give up.  Funny how when you just come clean it can completely break that barrier down and renew your relationship in a way you never thought it could.

We lie when we say we are Christians and fail to follow Christ fully and to walk in the light.  Sin happens.  It's life.  But real truth is admitting that fact, rather than trying to act like you have your whole life together.  Of course I don't really think Jesus meant you had to air your dirty laundry in public and humiliate yourself.  But perhaps if you didn't act accordingly in a situation it means stepping back and admitting you were wrong.  It's going up to that friend you ruined your initial witness to and saying, "I am so sorry I acted that way. But I'm human and I mess up my life.  It's only by God's grace I can survive and I hope that I can have another chance to mend what I've done."

1 John 1:10 is so powerful.  If we claimed we have not sinned his word has no place in our lives.  It has no value, no meaning.  The life that we were meant to build on Christ and his word is powerless because it has failed to remain true to one of the functional principles.

When we truly are in the warmth of the light of the  presence of God, there is no more hiding from the truth.  However, there is no more fear either.