
“Master Doulos, Is the Bible true?”
That’s an old question many have asked. What do you mean?
“I mean, is it factual?”
The simple answer is yes and no. Some parts are factual and some are not. Do you think Jonah actually lived three days in the belly of the whale? If true, it matters not. If false, it matters not.
“But I thought the Bible was supposed to be true.”
To whom are you listening? Do you mean true to be factual? The better question—is the Bible a book on which you can rely? Of course, the answer is yes, but not because it is true but because it is God’s revelation of truth. God speaks to us through scripture in different forms, some true and some not but all contain His truth. Every word exudes God’s love and desire for us to understand and live by this truth. To those who seek, He reveals it as are prepared by Him to receive.
Consider a moment in Mark’s gospel where Peter rebuked Jesus. With a terse response, Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” This moment is true and through Jesus’ words also expresses truth. Our Lord goes on in the text to reveal more truth. Reading the Bible to look for God’s truth rewards the reader. Any other effort frustrates him.
Our world is full of misdirection and people fall prey because they want easy answers and neat little boxes, their boxes, for God to fit into. God is many things but small and compact enough for a box is not one of them. Better to conform to God than to have Him conform to you, don’t you think? There is a truth here if you can hear.
Jonah made the mistake of thinking God fit into his own way of thinking, a box. God willed His way with Jonah even as Jonah resisted. Jonah and the whale, his attitude toward the Ninevites reveal God’s truth about repentance, pride, obedience and humility. Jonah had a lot to learn. We all do. Proving what is true will not teach truth to you, only detour you from it. Ahh, the detour is well traveled.
“Master Doulos, What is the truth in the story of Jonah?”
It is the same truth God speaks throughout scripture. Live well, being mindful of the things of God. Listen. and speak less, lest you reveal yourself to be entrenched and entangled by the things of men. It is not important to be correct and right but more to be merciful, to forgive and to love as God loves you.
“Master, Can I know all truth?”
What belongs to God remains with God; what He reserves for you will be given to you freely without hesitation or expectation of return. But this you must seek.
“And Master, What is the end of truth?”
To serve God without reservation of your own free will.