Truth. It might not be as easy to find as you think. Most search their entire lives for it and just as their fingers graze it’s surface, it flees. You can look the world over, mountain tops to desert valleys and simply pass it by. It’s easy to miss, the truth is located in one small 2” area that most people casually overlook as they walk this world. I guess you could say it’s hidden from view right in plain sight. Where is the truth? The truth lies between the two covers of God’s Word. 2” that can change a life.
Truth is a rather odd duck though. We all want it, yet we don’t. There’s a great line from the old Planet of the Apes movie as Charlton Heston is looking for the answer to why apes rule the planet, “don’t look for the answer Taylor, you may not like what you find.” You see the truth is not necessarily kind. The truth is just that, the truth. It doesn’t lie, cut corners, embellish, flatter or beat around the bush. The truth cuts deep. The truth hurts. As a result, the truth is not popular. I’m not necessarily anxious to get a deep cut today. But folks, without the truth there is no foundation, purpose, reason or meaning within a life.
We continue on today in a very tough section of Leviticus. The truth of God’s Word continues to impact me in its boldness, dare I say shock me. The subject matter alone is well, crystal clear in the delivery of its truth. We’ve spent time in Leviticus looking at the major slaughtering of all types of animals, the burning of their flesh upon the altar of the Lord. We’ve seen enough blood in Leviticus to fill a lifetime. We’ve seen God intimately deal with the aftermath of a woman’s pregnancy, the circumcision of a young child and the putrid details of leprosy. Today the truth in God’s Word only ramps up as we look at the vivid conditions and details of running sores, menstruation and the passing of venereal diseases. Leviticus is a tough, tough chapter, but folks the truth is no cake walk.
I guess you could say that the truth really starts stinging when it gets a little too close to home. We like the truth and we want the truth, but we just don’t want it to get too personal. Just like our personal space, when the truth gets a little too close, we naturally tend to take a few steps back. As we go a little deeper in chapter 15, you’ll find a chapter that gets very personal. You’ll not only go deeper into God’s Word, but God’s Word will go deeper into you. You see, that is exactly what the Holy Spirit is meant to do. Force you to apply the truth of God’s Word deep into your own life.
At the heart of chapter 15 is secrecy. Privacy. The sins and issues God deals with here are all very personal to a life. Most would tell God that these issues are simply none of His business. Our natural response and reaction to anything that gets a little too close to home. Today, especially in dealing with issues like abortion a mantra is "it's my own body, I can do what I want with it." Also similar when it comes to sex, that somehow we have a right to sleep with anybody or everybody we want. But you see, all is open to God. He sees all and He knows all because He created all. Who exactly do you think you’re keeping a secret from?
The idea of a secret sin is quite the oxymoron. We retreat into the inner recesses of our world and our mind to perform the darkest of acts. Thinking that somehow drawn drapes or closed doors will protect our hearts from the evil we are exposing it to. The idea that we can somehow enjoy sin privately, hidden from God, is a lie directly from the lips of satan.
Sin is sin and all sin damages, destroys and yes, will eventually end in death. No, not necessarily physical death, but one that is much worse…spiritual death. I saw a movie the other day that followed the daily life of a hitman. In one scene he was talking to priest. After they spoke for a while, the priest said to him, “I’m not sure why you’re so afraid of hell, you’re already living in it.” You see, his life was one of rampant sin and its affects were deadly; murder, lying, running, hiding, fear, guilt and shame. A life lived in sin is a life that is far beyond a physical death. A physical death can be instant, but a life lived in bondage to sin is a daily excursion into pure darkness.
Let me build an equation for you.
God is light. "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
God is truth. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Sin is darkness. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:19-20
If you put this equation together in the life of a person that has called upon Jesus Christ as their Savior, you will indeed find truth in the answer. You have the Holy Spirit of God living within you so therefore you have the light of Christ in your life. But you also have the darkness of secret sins living within you. Folks, darkness cannot exist with pure light. The light will continue to expose the dark. God will continue to expose the secret sins that you so carefully hide from Him.
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6
Leviticus 15 is a call from God into our lives. A plea. Give up the darkness and allow His light to shine. The secret sins you hide from the world and deny to yourself are no secret to God. Sin destroys, sin separates, sin alienates, and sin creates guilt and shame that over time, will create a life is no life at all. God wants better for you. So much better.
Pray this prayer of freedom this morning.
“Lord Jesus create in me a clean heart today as only you can do. Allow me to start this day anew. Forgive me of my sins of yesterday. I confess them to you, and I beg for your forgiveness. You are rich in mercy and grace and you are quick to forgive. I repent of my sins, I will turn away and flee from them. Grant me the strength today to fight the good fight against impurity. As I encounter the temptation of evil in this world today, I will call upon your Holy Word as a defense against the evil one. I cannot defeat evil, but your Words can, help them to be ready on my lips. Jesus, please protect my heart today so that I can serve you with goodness and purity. Amen."
May God’s pure light shine through a pure heart in you today.
Comments