Truth Works

Matthew 11:19b “But wisdom is justified of her children.”

Do you remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Goldilocks finds Papa Bear’s porridge, but it is too hot. Then she happens upon Mama Bear’s porridge but finds it too cold. That is how many people treat church today. They find that at one church, the preaching is “too hot.” At another, the church is “too cold.” So they finally find one that feels “just right”-one that involves a fishing pole in their hand!

Christ describes our generation and the generation He was speaking to in Matthew 11 in much the same way. People were trying to have it both ways. John the Baptist had a different style; verse 18 says he “came neither eating nor drinking.” The Lord Jesus was the exact opposite. But the multitude rejected the same message. The message of John the Baptist and the message of the Lord Jesus were the same-that Jesus was the Christ, the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Although the way they delivered the message was different, the truth was the same.

Matthew 11:19b says, “But wisdom is justified of her children.” That is, wisdom (truth) works. The message-what you are saying-is more important than how you say it. It is true that I should do all I can to hone my voice and make my presentation crisp, but the truth is what works. C.H. Spurgeon and George Whitfield are two well-known historic preachers. It is said of Whitfield that he could preach in the open air to thousands without using amplification. Spurgeon saw himself less “gifted” in his preaching than Whitfield. Spurgeon said, “Whitfield can preach better than I”-that is, the way he presented the truth-but the Gospel Whitfield proclaimed was no better than the Gospel Spurgeon gave. Truth works.

John was the forerunner; Jesus was the Christ, God in flesh. But they preached the same truth. Nothing is more convincing than the truth. Focus on the main thing, and the passion-the “how”-will come. What if you are not a preacher? The Gospel is still the same. We should work on the way we present it, but wisdom works. You may hear preachers who are very similar in their presentation, but it is not the way they say it, but what they say. Truth gives us the drive for saying the truth.

The United States is different today than it was back in the 1800’s. The world seemed much larger than the few hours it takes today to fly transatlantic. Secretary of State William Seward pushed for the purchase of a seemingly insignificant piece of land from Russia-now known as Alaska. The people of his day called the purchase “Seward’s Folly,” but today his purchase looks strategic and pretty smart! Columbus sailed for an unknown world, in part because of the belief that the world was round, not flat. They were convinced that truth works. May God help us to understand the matter of the truth is that the truth is the matter.