Truth Squared

While cleaning out a drawer in the study of a parsonage I was occupying, I found a sole piece of a puzzle.  From that one piece, I could not imagine what the whole picture would have been, nor could I have determined which way the piece fit into the puzzle.  I didn't have enough information from that one slice of the whole picture to know what to make of it.  I needed more information, more pieces of the whole.

Truth is also an illusive thing.  For every occasion, there are several perspectives.  Where the truth of the matter is remains either separate from any perspective, or as a combination of the the many perspectives.

If I am a witness to an auto accident, I see things only from my perspective. I cannot claim to have the only true version of the accident. I did not see the whole picture; I saw only the slice that was within my viewing.  My perspective does not include what the drivers of each car saw, nor that of the person who might have been standing opposite from me on the other side of the scene.  And none of these perspectives include what might have been visible from above the scene.  No one who witnesses the accident has the complete truth.

The challenge for our society is to recognize that there are many perspectives of truth.  Our tendency is to clasp on to one perspective and claim it to be the complete truth, the only truth, and then proclaim all others as in error or as lies.  This is arrogance on our part.  It serves only to bolster our own ego, to build up our own self esteem with the hot air of self aggrandizement.

If we are intentional about listening with our hearts to the many perspectives of living, we can only get closer to what is true.  Only by understanding the many perspectives can we get a full picture.

When we fail to listen, when we assume ours is the only perspective, we create division and disharmony.  Such is the source of much of the conflict around us and even within each of us.

John credits Jesus with saying, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold." (John 10:6) and  "In my fathers house are many dwelling places, If it were not true, would I tell you that I go to prepare a place for you?" (John 14:2)

If we are to honor what scripture teaches us, we must first accept that there is much we have yet to learn; there is another perspective that also holds truth; and we must learn to listen to one another to seek understanding and not project our own opinion upon the words of another.  No more than we have the whole picture from the single puzzle piece, neither you nor I hold or know the whole truth.

As I enter a new year, my hope is that I will learn and remember to listen with my heart for the new perspective of Truth that God is trying to give to me.  May I be blessed by a growing faith.  May I be graced by peace within and amongst all.  And may the Spirit thrive in our joy.