By Dianne E. Butts:
Photo from Wikipedia.org: Pilate
Things are not always what they seem. Have you ever believed in something and then discovered what you believed was absolutely not true? It happens. But when it does, what do you do? If you’re willing to chase after the truth, then you just might discover you’re finding God when things are not what they seem.
Many people either don’t want to chase after the truth or don’t recognize the truth when they see it.
When Jesus was put on trial for nonexistent crimes, He had a conversation with Pilate. During that conversation (see John18:38) Pilate asked, “What is truth?”
Interestingly, only a short time earlier, just before His arrest, Jesus told His disciples that He was going away and where He was going they could not come at that time. But when the time was right, they would go to be where He was. Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am going.”
But the disciple, Thomas, said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14-6, NIV Bible)
Did you see that? Right there, Jesus said He is the Truth.
Within hours, Jesus was standing before Pilate having a conversation about kingdoms. Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king. Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world. Pilate said, “You are a king, then!”
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” Pilate asked.
Pilate had Truth personified standing right there before him, but he did not recognize it! Things were not what they seemed to Pilate.
When things are not what they seem, it can catch us by surprise. Some surprises are delightful. Other surprises can cause doubts to invade our minds. So which do you think is better: believing something that isn’t true? Or finding out the truth?
Some people think those of us who believe in God believe in an illusion. What do you believe? For those of us who are hopelessly in love with finding the truth, we have to pursue the truth until we determine whether what we believe is truth or we are chasing an illusion. When you seek the truth with everything you have, no matter what the outcome is, you will be finding God when things are not what they seem.
In this short movie titled Bob, the hamster chases after his heart’s desire. But if you’ll watch it to the very end—even beyond the credits—you’ll discover things are not what they seem!
©Dianne E. Butts has over 275 articles and short fiction in more than fifty publications and eighteen books, and is a regular contributor to Finding God Daily.
Enjoy this short animation: Bob – The Adventures of a Hamster Lover, a film by Jacob Frey and Harry Fast. Compare this fun animation with the old-world painting above. These works of art were created centuries apart, one with a brush, the other with a computer. Yet both reveal how truth can be missed without a closer look.
I had a similar experience of finding God when things with a friend were not what I assumed they were. This discovery humbled me. Thanks for the reminder.