Last blog I took a small, but important detour. Because “The Story behind the Story” is intended to point to Biblical truth, it was good to bring Jesus into the discussion. After all, Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth. The fact that it wasn’t convenient for Pilate to take a stand regarding the truth didn’t make it any less true. Truth is not determined by the hearer, but by the One with ultimate knowledge and authority. Jesus declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) His life, death, and resurrection validated His claim.

I ended last time with a question: But do people really like “the lie”? If you’ve read through all of chapter 25 of The Bridge from OneDayBow, you know who and what I’m referring to, but just for the sake of clarity: Tim had made an impassioned plea to consider the importance of acting in honesty and integrity, and then pointed to the One who is the standard of Truth – the King. “Right and wrong’s defined by Him in full authority.” He kept their attention for a while, until he brought up their accountability for violating His standard. When Tim told them that judgment was coming, and they needed to seek the Son at the Bridge to be spared destruction… They were done with listening.

Now, let me ask you; do the following words of Tim anger or encourage you?

“It matters how you live and it matters what you do,

But what matters the most is to trust the King is True.

You need His forgiveness, and I hope you won’t delay

To take the Bridge the Son made – it is the only way!”

From my perspective, Tim was sounding an important alarm. Tim told them the truth. They were all in trouble. HereAndNow was going to end, but, there was a way to escape the judgment. The Son had made a way. They could have life and hope and a future in Him and with Him.

Maybe Tim’s words sounded judgmental to these people who wanted to decide their own morality. Maybe they liked the game, despite the frustrations and uncertainty it caused. Maybe they weren’t as open-minded as they claimed to be.

It was then the well-dressed individual stepped in to be the voice of reason. Although, his reasoning sounded more like double-speak. Take a listen:

“Everybody has ideas, and everyone is free

To express their opinions based on how they each see.

That doesn’t mean that they’re wrong, at least not in their sight.

But they can speak what they want – even if they’re not right.

In HereAndNow we can’t oppose what other groups say.

All roads lead to the same place. It’s a very broad way.”

Did you catch that? An obvious assault on Ultimate Truth! But wait, there’s more:

The man scoffed, “Some have a Book, and they insist it’s true.

I’ve always asserted, truth is relative to you.

That Book about that King is meant figuratively:

No one with higher knowledge takes it literally!”

That is the clincher! You know what he said? You can’t trust the Book of the King! Or, to lay the allegory aside for a minute; it’s the lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden that God cannot be trusted to tell the truth. I flash back to Genesis, chapter 3 (verse 4-5), and can almost hear that hissing snake:

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It appears that Eve liked the lie – or at least the idea of it. She took the bait, ate the fruit, and we all have lived to regret her decision. Did they really like the lie in the end? Note, she only liked the lie when she thought it might work for her. She thought she could act independently of genuine truth and be better off for it. Wrong! It seems that people are still a lot like Eve.

But what is exactly is “the lie”? It’s not just about the bobbles, you know. Simply put, the lie is that real Truth can be denied, disregarded, and deliberately disobeyed without consequences. And what does that bring to lives, families, communities, nations, and generations? Confusion, division, chaos, and wars. You see, the ultimate lie is that you can have ultimate control of your life, regardless of anyone else – even Creator God. But, as we learn from Adam and Eve, that doesn’t even work when there are only two people in the world, let alone a world full of people who want to make their own truth.  

I think it’s safe to say that in the end Adam and Eve really didn’t like the lie. And no one else will either.