The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Paul P. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Truth
In order to do a biblical study of truth, it first becomes necessary to define just what truth means. A fairly decent definition of Truth is something that adheres to reality. However, there's another level that is easily missed. Truth, once recognized, is something by which we can compare the things around us to determine their validity.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6 (NKJV)
It's very easy to measure God through the situations around us, making him only as good as what we're going through at the moment. In reality, we should be measuring our current conditions through God. When Jesus said, “I am the truth,” he was saying more than that he is true, or that the word is truth. He was also stating he's our comparison to the things around us, the plumb line by which we can measure the rightness of all other things. The more our perspective is saturated with truth, the better our understanding will become. How much more so with Christ, who's not only the truth, but also the light, the one illuminating the truth for us?
Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, Proverbs 3:3 (NKJV)
This verse can be somewhat confusing if taken at face value. Truth in itself is not something that could deny you. We know the truth mentioned in this scripture can't be Christ because his word states that he will only disown you if you disown him, and this proverb doesn't specify an outright denial of truth. Looking at it in a slightly metaphorical manner yields a deeper result.
Suppose you have a friend named Truth. Truth's basically a good person, and would never forsake your friendship without reason. So what would compel him to abandon you? Because the scripture states never to let the truth forsake you, it could imply a warning against apathy. If you simply do not care about Truth, and live as if he doesn't matter, there will eventually be no reason for him to stay. And it would only be worse if you became wishy-washy, or a fair-weather friend, only accompanying him when it suits your own purposes. Truth would recognize this duplicity to be harmful, to both him and you as well, and he would leave.
Applying this to real life, when you are apathetic to the truth or only use it when it suits you, something significant starts to happen on the spiritual level. Truth begins to leave your spirit. You start to become blinded to the truth, and your heart becomes hardened. What happens is very similar to the death of the conscience.
The scriptures have many dimensions to them, and I can say with certainty this report only scratches the surface of these two verses. I look forward to gaining more insight as I study and learn of God's truth.
