Does Relationship Determine Truth? Sort of...

Does relationship determine truth? Sort of.  Granted truth is truth (no matter what culture says), however relationship lends weight and trustworthiness to truth.  Think about it...most people are for gay marriage or applauding gay lifestyle because someone they know is gay (or someone they know knows someone, etc. you get the point)  Even teens growing up in church are deeply affected by this type of relational context of truth.  So here's my point then: relational context of truth is true even with God's Word.  Here's what I mean, unlike the shifting sand of what a sinful broken culture says is true or not, God's Word is absolute and eternal.  It is true whether you agree or not, believe or not or are aware of it or not.  BUT, there are plenty of people (including Satan) who know and misapply Scripture. (John 14:17, Matthew 4:1-11)  There are plenty who read it and say "fiction!," "fable!," "just a historical text," "religious instruction," etc. What's the difference?  It is our relationship with Christ that makes this truth come alive...it makes it true not just in an abstract sense, but in a personal sense.  Having the Spirit of Truth residing in our hearts makes THE truth, our Truth because it is all about Him.(John 16:13-14) It is our love for Jesus that causes us to not only believe, but to obey at the cost of everything else...because we KNOW.  To give this some context I'll use the example above, there are several people that I know and love deeply who are living a gay lifestyle, but loving them does not mean that I embrace or celebrate their choices.  Why? Because my heart breaks for them. Their choices will only lead to brokenness and destruction.  Maybe that doesn't answer the question of why I can't affirm their choices.  Bottom line is because I have a relationship that supersedes these others and that relationship defines not only truth but all other relationships.  My prayer is that our younger generation will have such encounters with the Spirit of God that Truth will be made personal and that all other relationships secondary. (Matthew 10:34-37)

   “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. " (Psalm 86:11, NIV)