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Love the Truth
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Today’s Devotional
Jack hates school. The lectures on algebra, grammar, and the periodic table bore him. But he loves building houses. His father takes him to work in the summer, and Jack can’t get enough. He’s only sixteen, but he knows about cement, shingles, and how to frame a wall. What’s the difference between school and construction? Love. Jack loves one and not the other. His love fuels knowledge.
As believers in Jesus, we’re to “love the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Paul says a satanic figure will use “signs and wonders” (v. 9) to deceive “those who are perishing” (v. 10). Why are they perishing? “They refused to love the truth and so be saved” (v. 10). Their failure to love the truth blinds them from knowing it. They’ll be duped (v. 11).
What do we know? That important question depends on a more basic one: What do we love? Our passions incline our heart and direct our mind. We cherish what we love. We protect it and seek more of it. If we love truth and wisdom, we’ll search for them as precious gold (Proverbs 3:13-14; 4:7-9). They’ll guard us. “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you” (4:6).
What is true wisdom? Jesus says it’s Him. “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Our most important question is who do we love? Love Jesus and you’ll learn His way. He’ll guard your life by guiding you into His truth.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it important to love the truth? Why does Jesus say He is the truth?
Dear Father, please fill my heart with love for You and what’s true.
Today’s Insights
Embracing the truth is essential for believers in Jesus, for He’s the one who is the truth (see John 14:6). Judas Iscariot is a classic example of one who had the opportunity to fully follow Christ but didn’t. The life of Judas and the teaching of 2 Thessalonians have several things in common. First, Satan is at work in both. Luke 22:3 says that “Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot,” and 2 Thessalonians 2:9 notes that “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works.” Furthermore, John 17:12 refers to Judas as “the son of destruction” (esv), a term also found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (esv). Satan’s agenda is deception that leads to destruction. We can avoid his deceiving ways by loving Jesus and embracing His truth.
