Love Peace and Truth ~ Zechariah 8
“Therefore love truth and peace.” Zechariah 8:19b ESV
Every single human that takes its first breath upon this grand planet inherits a quest. A quest that will not relinquish its grasp until it is deemed completed. And just what is this grand human quest that automatically enlists us all? The journey to find truth in this life. And why, you may ask, do I so boldly proclaim of this guaranteed quest? Well, because God tells us clearly that all humans were made in His image. (Genesis 1:26, 1:27) And as God made humans after His own image, likeness, and being, He built into each of them a need for Himself. And considering this, we are innately driven to discover the true essence of our need for God. Consider it a God-given need for us to discover who and what we were created to be. Now you would assume that since we are made in the image of God it would be easy to reconcile ourselves to our Maker, yes? Well, it was easy…until that fruity crunch occurred in the garden in Genesis 3. Yes, after the first two humans succumbed to their prideful desire to be on level playing ground with God and His thinking ability, mankind has been like a dog chasing its tail looking for the truth of what and who they were created to be and do.
From the post-exilic book of minor prophecy, the prophet Zechariah speaks of apocalyptic imagery that rivals that of Revelation and Daniel. Within its pages you will see colored horses riding over the planet in judgement, flying scrolls, angels with measuring tapes, and yes, even a wicked woman living in a basket. But beyond just this foretelling of vivid symbolic coming judgement upon a flint-hearted rebellious people, we find nuggets of God’s wisdom that ring out loud and clear with no introspection and symbolic interpretation needed. An example of this would be our study verse above that originated over 3100 years ago yet falls into our laps today with tremendous clarity and simplicity…“therefore love truth and peace.”
TRUTH. Our world today has a field day defining truth. In fact, I would go so far as to say there are so many “truths” today that they have buried the one genuine truth so deep, one must go spelunking to locate it. You see, the truth about the truth is there can be only one. If there is more than one truth, then there can be no real truth. Yes, God’s genuine truth is a rare fellow that travels alone. Our world and the prideful hearts that beat within it today, define truth in any way that offers them personal satisfaction. Everybody can have and define their own truth in any way that pleases them. (Judges 21:26 anybody?) Oh, what a tremendous job satan has done is so muddying the waters of truth. The water is so muddy one truly seeking for the genuine truth must seek well or their search will be in vain as they find a variation of the truth that may well please them more. Basically when it comes to seeking for God and His truth, Jeremiah 29:13 rings aloud…look for God with all your heart and you will find the truth. Or, look for the truth with all your heart and you will find God.
Most today in their search for the truth believe they are looking for a noun. And yes, the truth of God is, at times, described as a noun in the Bible. But more importantly, it is not found as simply a noun, but a pronoun…I. For in John 14:6 we see one of the boldest claims ever made by a flesh-wearing individual in history. Jesus of Nazareth makes the claim that “I am the truth, the way, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Still a tremendously bold claim that continues to polarize our world today that instead claims there are many ways to heaven and all religions should peacefully “co-exist.” Yet, Jesus’ claim, even today, requires a response. What will you do with Jesus’ claim that He is the only way to heaven? Well, whether you like it or not, accept it or not, or even choose to openly reject it, Jesus’ comment here will have an eternal bearing on your location after your physical body expires upon this planet. Which brings up another point on God’s truth…regardless of what you think of God’s truth…it does not and will not change it.
PEACE. I think most today interpret peace as an external force upon their lives. World peace depends on world leaders, not me. Peace in the workplace depends and is dictated by the boss, not me. Peace in the family is determined by how well the husband or wife bow to the other’s demands. But what if I were to tell you to draw a three-foot circle on the ground and step inside it and that is exactly where peace starts and ends in this world today. Yes, the waters of Godly peace, just as with Godly truth, has been greatly muddied by the evil one as a concept owned by someone else when it is just the opposite. The task of achieving and maintaining peace belongs to the heart that has found the truth of Jesus Christ and chooses to mirror that truth in their own daily lives.
Did you know that peace is mentioned 429 times in over 60 different books of the Bible? That means that 90.9% of the 66 Biblical books speak about the importance of Godly peace. And did you know that Jesus personally speaks about peace over 23 times in the 4 gospel books? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) Twenty-three times. Here are some heavy hitters about Godly peace directly from the mouth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ:
“ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV
“I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 ESV
Pretty powerful stuff from Jesus. Especially the last verse that takes the idea of peace and transfers the ownership of it directly to the individual that faithfully walks in the truth of Jesus Christ. And notice that particular verse from the sermon on the mount in the book of Matthew does not say blessed are the “peacekeepers” (i.e., someone attempting to avoid arguments or staying quiet to keep things calm on the surface) but blessed are the “peacemakers” (someone taking action by stepping into the mess, telling the truth with love, and helping people truly forgive and fix the problem). Jesus says His peace does not simply happen to His disciples; His disciples happen to peace.
Therefore, love truth and peace. Love Jesus as the one and only truth and then love the truth that He speaks in His Word. Love it and do it. And then love the peace that Christ promotes so much that you are willing to radiate that peace from the 3-foot circle in which you currently stand. Love the truth of Christ, promote the truth of Christ over the lies of this world, and then do all in your power to see the peace of Christ rule supreme in your life. Oh, what a world it would be if this were the mantra engraved upon its 8 billion hearts. A world like this starts one heart at a time. May your heart today beat like that of Jesus Christ in loving truth and peace.
Blessings ~ Dan
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14 (love)
“And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (truth)
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (peace)
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