Monday Memories: Dare to Find the Truth

I have several memories from my younger years of responding to dares from “friends.” (A word of advice: if you want to be a true friend, don’t tempt someone to do something you know could have a negative result. ) I decided to try the dares because: a) I wanted my friends’ approval and wanted them to think I was “cool.” b) I didn’t have strong enough convictions to keep me from doing foolish things. c) I was an immature kid who was not thinking through the potential consequences.

One dare was when I was nine or ten—a friend dared me to throw a stick toward the front of our house to make it land on the roof. I was a terrible throw, and the stick broke our front window, equaling an unplanned for and no doubt untimely bill for my parents—who were renters.

Another dare involved a different friend and the destruction of some school property. I was reluctant at first, but sufficiently egged on—I gave in to the pressure. This act too resulted in a bill for my disappointed parents. Preceded by a trip to the principal’s office.

A third dare was more of a mutual one between that same friend and myself—she encouraged me to goof off and see if I might get away with it, and I was also curious to see just how rowdy I could be and still get away with it. The result? Since this was inside a church building, during a church-sponsored event, I was asked not to return—thus ended my brief career as a “pioneer girl.”

Recalling these events now, I can see clearly why I was so easily persuaded to ignore what I knew to be right and embrace what was exciting but lacking moral integrity. I didn’t know my Heavenly Father’s heart—His thoughts toward me—who I was according to Him. Had I known Him better then and the value He placed on me, I believe I would have been able to say in my heart, ‘No, it’s God’s opinion that matters most—and He says I’m better than that.’

But I was thinking only of the moment—the thrill of disobedience—the rapture of rebellion…and then the hammer fell. Every time. Because I didn’t know who I really was—or whom I was called to represent. I had not yet allowed God to show me what was truly good—the life He had for me, only requiring that I do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8).

I was lacking discipleship. I needed someone to come alongside and tell me what God saw in me. I didn’t even know at that time how to hear God. I needed loving guidance—to be introduced to the kingdom in which I was to live as a princess. I didn’t have to do foolish things to get attention—I had every bit of my Father’s attention already. I just didn’t know it.

How often is this very story true of so many people—believers and pre-believers alike? They don’t see the gold God sees in them, so they live out of their knowledge of themselves as those who are poor, unacknowledged, unimportant. It is so incredibly vital to our futures that we understand what God says about us—and embrace that truth about ourselves.

The truth is—you are His dove, and He longs to see your face and hear your voice, “for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely” (Song of Solomon 2:14); you are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that [you] should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV); you are His child! "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18).

At the temple court one day, there was a woman who had been caught in adultery. Harsh judgment—even unto death—was about to be leveled against her. But Jesus told her that she was forgiven and to go and sin no more. He released her from the bondage of the life she had known and encouraged her to live a new life, embracing the truth.

“So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32, Amplified). When we know “the Truth,” which is Jesus, we will also understand the truth about ourselves. We will have the freedom to know who we are truly called to be—and leave behind behaviors that have separated us from our true identities all along. “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory” (Psalm 149:4).

True freedom is only found in Christ. Dare to trust in Him. For His truths are “more precious than gold, than much pure gold” (Psalm 19:10a). Dare to find out who you really are. Dare to follow Him. He will only lead you in paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake (Psalm 23), the place where you were always meant to walk. Dare to take His hand—and never let go.