What do you do with Truth?
You’ve walked toward Him. You’ve boasted in Him. You’ve listened to Him. You’ve invited Him to share your table, and finally, you’ve received from Him the feeding that fills and the truth that lasts. What then, do you do with that Truth?
Responses vary. Perhaps you contemplate Truth for a long season, harboring him within and treasuring him as your own. Perhaps you are quick to hide Truth for fear that his exposure would warrant the world’s disapproval. Perhaps, you reason Truth away because the world’s version of truth is an easier swallow and requires less of a voice. Perhaps, you reject Truth. Some would argue that you can’t, but it doesn’t line up with Scripture and with the living witness of a societal soul that prefers to stumble along with a lie, even though Truth has voiced his portion.
For all of the possible responses that could be proffered for Truth’s revelation, there is one and only one appropriate response to the tasting of God’s eternal and living witness. Again, we look to our spiritual ancestors in Emmaus for an appropriate response. What did they do with Truth?
They pushed away from the table and took to the road. Why?
Because Truth is meant to be shared. Not harbored or hidden. Not silenced or shrouded, but rather exposed. Released. Disclosed and distributed.
And for two hearts that burned with the Truth of Easter’s resurrection, the telling of that Truth became paramount. So much so that, despite the weary of an earlier walk from Jerusalem, they commenced a seven mile hike back to its borders. Back to the place of their seeded desperation and hopelessness in order to till the soil with the truth of a tabled communion in Emmaus.
Can you picture them as they went? Can you feel their sense of urgency? The joy that spurred their steps in a hastened obedience toward that upper room, where many were cloistered in confusion? When have you known a similar compelling? When has the truth of Jesus been the overwhelming penchant of your heart, so much so that you were willing to push away from the table and voice your proclamations with the words of God’s eternal witness? To run back to the place of cloistered confusion and to shatter the chaos with the Light of Easter’s revelation?
What, friends, do you do with Truth?
It is a question that I am asking of myself this day as we bring this series to a close. In many ways, the journey we’ve taken over the past two weeks has mirrored an Emmaus pilgrimage. We’ve walked to the table with intention. We’ve boasted in Christ’s name. We’ve opened up the Scripture together and allowed Christ to teach us. We’ve urged Him to stay and to dine with us around the table. We’ve watched Him break the bread and have received a feeding from his hands, the taste of which has stoked a burning fire within for Jesus and his truth.
And now we come to a final obedience in our journey. We come to a crossroads, where a choice must be made. We can push away from the table, fully fed and well satisfied, and nap away our life as usual. Or, we can push away from the table, fully fed and well satisfied, and move into a deeper obedience that requires and charges us with the responsibility of feeding others from the overflow. Either way, we’ve been fed, and that, alone, is a very good thing.
But the great thing…the better and more sacred path…would be to share God’s Bread with a world whose hunger remains empty and deep and terribly void of eternal sustenance. To stop short of the telling of God’s Truth is to stop short of our part in the Great Commission. We limit Christ’s work in us when we refuse his work a voice through us.
It’s a selfish choice. A less than choice that always ladles partial rather than full—almost, but not quite complete.
I don’t know about you, but I am after my completion. I want God to fully use me up, and then I want him to carry me home to heaven. I don’t want to leave this world napping. I want to leave this world walking and talking and living the Truth of Easter’s resurrection out loud, boldly and with the firm conviction that the Truth who burns within is in fact…
The Way. The Truth, and the Life.
I want the last words from my lips to mirror those of my Emmaus friends so long ago.
It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to me.
In the end, there is no finer Truth that can be ladled. In the end, there is only one Truth that is of consequence. His name is Jesus, and he has painted my wretchedness with his lavish portion of Calvary’s grace. He’s allowed me forever. He’s given me his peace, his presence, and his constant and abiding love that will carry through my now and over the threshold into my next.
Nothing else matters. Nothing. And for that, my friends, I will push away from my tabled communion and take to the road just as Jesus did. He didn’t linger long in Emmaus. Once he revealed the truth of who he is, he left. He took to the road, and he charges us with the same journey. And when we walk forward in such sacred submission, we will find, even as the disciples did on that resurrection evening, that our Father goes with us…goes ahead of us, and meets us on the other side of our obedience.
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Let Peace be your guide. Let Peace be your portion, and as always, let there be Peace in your journey. He is so worthy of our steps, and thus I pray…
Thank you, Father, for this time around your table. You are worth my obedience. You exceed my expectations, every time. I cannot fully imagine what it must have been like to walk that Emmaus road with you on your resurrection morning, but I’m trying…to imagine…You…even now as we walk this road some 2000 years beyond that moment. It still feels fresh. It still voices truth and peace and sears into my heart with the burning revelation of your lasting witness. Give me the strength to carry your Truth, the boldness to speak your Truth, and the wisdom to choose your Truth, despite the bombardment from the world’s version of truth. Let me live it like I mean it until you carry me home and I finally see the Truth whom I now so vividly taste. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the abiding and living Holy Spirit. Amen. So be it.
~elaine
What a joy, friends, to close this series with you and with a fresh taste of Truth in my mouth and heart. I’ve walked and written it, even as I have lived it–with obedience, even when my flesh cried out for a nap! Thank you for walking this Emmaus road with me. I’m not sure what’s next, but whatever that “next” may be, it will be done with Jesus, for he is my peace in my journey. God be with you, be real to you, and be found by you each and every time you set the table for communion with Him. He is worth the walk and every hard and difficult step that you take to get to his feet. How I love Him and consider it a privilege to love you because of Him. Shalom!
When has the truth of Jesus been the overwhelming penchant of your heart, so much so that you were willing to push away from the table and voice your proclamations with the words of God’s eternal witness?
This is my favorite statement.Sometimes it is so overwhelming and convicting and other times I ignore the thought.
I hope you are writing a book or something with all of this! Your language is so easy to understand and pushes me to want more.
Thank you!
Whenever Truth has penetrated my heart, there has been this wonderful feeling like I have opened up eternity inside of me. Some people call it ‘lightbulb’ or ‘aha’ moments. Perhaps rightly named for secularists, but as a child of God, grasping His truth suddenly is a divine moment and I am propelled to share it, as you do in your blog.
Thank you for not hugging it to yourself, Elaine, and inviting us to sup with you and Your Master.
Love, Sita
So beautiful, Elaine! And thought-provoking. I am looking at what I do with this Truth, and I am knowing I should take to the road more. Thank you for convicting me, encouraging me, and making me think today, friend.
“Can you feel their sense of urgency? The joy that spurred their steps in a hastened obedience toward that upper room, where many were cloistered in confusion? When have you known a similar compelling? When has the truth of Jesus been the overwhelming penchant of your heart, so much so that you were willing to push away from the table and voice your proclamations with the words of God’s eternal witness? To run back to the place of cloistered confusion and to shatter the chaos with the Light of Easter’s revelation?”
Not often enough my friend.
I had that urgency and compelling when I came home from NC this summer – I wanted to shout from the mountain tops that God is real, that He is able, that He can do more than we ask or imagine, that He sets captives free, that He lavishes love and forgives sins.
I have a vast head knowledge of truth, far outweighing the experience of living the truth. Yesterday I read, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body”. Ecc 12:12
Elaine, there are those who believe a plane will fly, then there are those who get on the plane. My life has been sadly lacking in the “stepping on the plane” adventures with God. I sit cocooned infront of a computer screen sharing knowledge, but true wisdom is gained through applying God’s truth.
“They pushed away from the table and took to the road.” Elaine, through this message, God is calling me to push away from the ‘table’ and start walking. The ‘table’ is safe and comfortable. The ‘road’ brings unknown destinations, possible unwanted travelling companions, physical lonliness, hardships and exhaustion, but when walked with Him is a worthy walk.
Broken, yet at peace,
Joy
I work as hard as I can to share the Truth of Jesus, who he was, what he did, and where he is interceding for us today with our youth at our church. Some days it is so difficult because today’s culture has them so “into ME”…thank goodness we have a wonderful youth pastor and group of young associates who give lessons each week that really reach to them at their level. Then, we are able to discuss the “real” hands-on issues in small groups, sharing daily struggles and prayer concerns, and building relationship to SHOW them how God loves them, through our pastors, through us, through the missions that we guide them through during the year.
I loved what SITA said about the “aha” moments…because in our sharing and teaching the teens, it is wonderful when you see them “get it” and then “hear” them “sharing it” because Jesus uses his teens in a wonderfully rich way, with their concise sentences and heartfelt understandings and applications.
Thank you for guiding us on the walk and asking us to ponder these important questions!!
Truly, our portion is not complete without the sharing. If Christ had just died, we would have a sweet memory of time spent around the table with an extraordinary individual. But He arose! That changed everything. That fact should make it impossible to stay seated, and should find us bidding others come to find nourishment for themselves.
A wonderful word, as always, my friend. An impetus to GET MOVING.
Hugs,
Melinda
This has been an incredible journey with you, Elaine. And you are so right – the journey is not complete without the sharing. Thank you for walking me down the Emmaus road.
(Oh, and do you REALLY not wanna know what part of my blog story is true? I’d be glad to share if you’re curious – let me know)
Elaine, this is such a great thought, and a challenge. We cannot linger at the table forever. We MUST push away and hit the road, the dusty trails again, to be the voice, the salt, the light.
Thanks for this reminder so eloquently spoken as usual.
It’s undeniable that Truth’s companion is obedience, so I love the way you spelled that out. It brings to mind John 8:31-32 where yet another companion is revealed: freedom.
No wonder there’s peace in Truth’s way. The shackles fall there!
Be blessed,
Kathleen
Elaine, the cry of your heart is entwined with mine.
” ‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry …’ “ (Isaiah 58:6-7)
“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
(Ephesians 6:19-20)
Elaine,
To share and to love simply because of what He is to me and how He loves me…my part for Him and the world is a privelege.
May I not be found lacking, as I shout HE IS AWESOME!
Lovingly,
Yolanda
A beautiful series! One of my favorite from your work. I anxiously await your next one. Until then, I too strive to walk in this truth, to live in this truth!
Shalom!
In His Graces~Pamela
I want to be radically obedient and bold in my witness. I want to look like Christ. Thank you for a challenging post!! I enjoyed every line!!
Leah
Hey Elaine,
FINALLY getting over here to this awesome FEAST you have served up for us once again.
Had my grand-kids over for 5 days now, I’m ready to settle down and get some reading in!
This was incredible. Truly worth the wait!!
What a beautiful way to sum up this series,
“In the end, there is no finer Truth that can be ladled. In the end, there is only one Truth that is of consequence. His name is Jesus, and he has painted my wretchedness with his lavish portion of Calvary’s grace. He’s allowed me forever. He’s given me his peace, his presence, and his constant and abiding love that will carry through my now and over the threshold into my next”
Amen!!!
Thanks for your labor of love, I so appreciate this.