Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:37-40
 
 
I’ve always been a big fan of old movies. Even as a teen, I watched movies from the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. One of my favorites is Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Set in Rome, as the title suggests, the plot involves a princess from a foreign country who dutifully fulfills her obligations in each city she visits until she arrives in Rome. No longer able to cope with her role of duty, she escapes the embassy and meets a handsome American who shows her the sights of Rome. In one scene, Gregory Peck sticks his hand into a marble sculpture called the “Mouth of Truth”. According to legend, if you place your hand inside the mouth, this ancient mask of a man’s face has the power to cut off your hand if you are lying. Gregory Peck decides to play a joke on Audrey Hepburn and when he removes his hand from the Mouth of Truth, he cleverly hides his hand in his sleeve. Her scream at seeing his handless arm is totally unscripted and the director included this humorous improv scene in the movie.
 
On a beautiful, warm day after visiting the Colosseum in Rome, we stopped by a nearby church. Not quite as dark and sinister as depicted in the movie, the Mouth of Truth is built into the church’s exterior wall. Queued up to see this popular tourist site was a line of people, who, all in their turn, were able to stick their hands into the carved mouth and have their photo taken by friends and family. When it was our turn, I tentatively placed my hand into the Mouth of Truth and am happy to report I escaped unscathed.
 
In today’s society, there is no Mouth of Truth to distinguish truth from lies. How do we discern truth? In particular, how do we learn to live by the truth? What makes up the beliefs and values that guide how we live?
 
When we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His Spirit becomes real to us. This Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, speaks God’s truth into our lives. When we read the Bible, we have the Spirit to help us understand what we are reading and to help us apply biblical truths to our lives.
 
Sometimes, perhaps because of the fast pace of life, we sacrifice time with God for other competing priorities. We take shortcuts that end up by-passing time spent in God’s truth. The “herd mentality” creeps in and we start to believe what others around us believe, even what other Christians believe, without taking the time to vet those thoughts and beliefs against Scripture. We are called to know what we believe and why we believe it. This involves careful study of God’s Word with the help of the Holy Spirit.

How much of our Christian “culture” consists of beliefs that we internalize as our own without ever really thinking about what we believe and stacking it up against Scripture? As I go deeper into my own beliefs, exploring with the help of the Spirit of Truth, I’m surprised to find that much of what we believe as Christians really isn’t in the Bible at all. Yet, we hold these beliefs up as truth and allow them to impact our thoughts, words, and actions, often using them to judge other people. I’m not referring to the tenets of the Christian faith, such as Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. But rather, beliefs like “God hates divorce” and “adultery is the only valid reason for divorce”, are among the many beliefs we often hold that are not found in Scripture. Typically, these “untruths” get their start in Bible verses ripped out of context. (Stay tuned for further exploration in future blogs.)

When asked by a Pharisee, one of the religious leaders of the day, what the greatest commandments are, Jesus’ reply in Matthew 22:37-40 was probably pretty startling to His followers and to the Pharisees who were accustomed to their long list of 613 actual rules. Jesus says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. These are the greatest commandments, the most important truths and guiding principles by which we are to live. Perhaps if we start there, all other true beliefs will fold in under these. Maybe if we keep these two commandments tucked into our hearts and minds, our attitudes and actions would indeed reflect the love of the Triune God and bear witness to the One who is the Living Truth, through His Spirit living within us.
 
 
Lord, help me to seek Your truth and grant me wisdom and grace to apply it to my life. Give me the courage and strength to live Your truth out in my life every day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 
 
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Text and photograph copyright © 2018 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità), Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church, Rome, Italy.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Ruth 1:16b
 
 
In the book of Ruth, we read a beautiful story about loyalty as well as loss and new beginnings. A famine forces Naomi to move with her husband and sons from Bethlehem to the land of Moab. Ten years or so later, tragedy strikes when Naomi loses her husband and both her sons. She decides to travel back to Bethlehem. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, chooses to go with Naomi, saying “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.” I love Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law and her tenacity in standing firm in her decision to go with Naomi. The happy ending is heart-warming and we see God’s hand at work throughout this story. But often I read the book of Ruth and overlook Naomi’s own transformation.
 
When she arrives back at her home in Bethlehem, Naomi tells her friends not to call her Naomi anymore. She renames herself “Mara” which means bitter. She says in Ruth 1:21a, “I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty.” Naomi places the blame squarely on God for her emptiness. Her grief blinds her to the fact that even though she has suffered significant losses, she has gained a daughter-in-law who is fiercely loyal to her. When she honestly acknowledges she is now empty, Naomi faces a broken part of herself. Only then is God’s power unleashed to bring Naomi from the depths of despair to a place of healing and hope. The happy ending (spoiler alert!) is Ruth marries a godly man named Boaz and they have a child who grows up to become the grandfather of King David. Naomi rejoices in how God has so abundantly provided for her. She is no longer the bitter woman she was at the beginning of the story.
 
Traveling to a foreign country recently reminded me of this engaging story of Ruth and Naomi. I know when I travel that God goes with me. In Matthew 28:20b, as Jesus is ascending into heaven after the resurrection, the last thing He tells His disciples is “…surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Ruth, in a way, is a Christ-figure, promising Naomi that she will go wherever Naomi goes, that she will not leave her. In my travels, I have learned that Jesus goes with me, too, wherever I go. He will not leave me. I do not need to be afraid.
 
I have also come to realize that wherever I go, there I am. Like Naomi, I pack my insecurities, anxieties, and brokenness and bring those with me when I take off on a trip. I fool myself into thinking that only the new me, the brave one, the one who doesn't let fear rule her life, will be taking this trip. But the rest of me is there, too. Travel creates discovery. But is it discovery of outward sights or inward insights? In traveling half-way around the world, I come face-to-face with myself.
 
Yet, bit by bit, the baggage becomes lighter. Like Naomi, I am transformed when I face my brokenness and allow God’s power to be unleashed in me. God works in and through me, to change me and to make me into a better version of myself. Just like in Naomi’s case, He takes the circumstances and experiences and weaves them in a way that makes my life fuller and richer. May I, like Naomi and her friends, give praise to the Lord for the transformation He has brought about in my life.
 
What baggage of your own do you carry around with you? Under what circumstances do you come face-to-face with who you are? Allow God’s transforming power to be unleashed in you. I invite you to completely trust the God who loves you, who has your best in mind, and who redeems all your losses as He transforms you into a better “you”.
 
 
Dear Jesus, I thank You and praise You that wherever I go, You go with me. On the journey of life, may I be transformed by Your love into a better version of me. May I see Your hand at work in my life through loss and redemption, through brokenness and healing. Amen.
 
 
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Text and photograph copyright © 2018 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Monarch butterfly on a zinnia.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™