It does not take much discernment to recognize that we are living in a time of tremendous spiritual confusion. Deception is widespread, fewer people are interested in understanding the Bible, and our culture no longer places the same importance on biblical values that it once did. As a result, ideas that would have been immediately recognized as contrary to Scripture only a generation ago are now routinely accepted, even within Christianity. The Adversary has always worked to obscure the truth of God’s Word, but today he has powerful means at his disposal to spread confusion throughout the world faster than at any other time in history. Yet times of great spiritual darkness have always created extraordinary opportunities for those willing to hold forth the light of truth.
Over the years, I have watched people I once stood beside gradually move away from positions they firmly held. Most painfully, I have watched my own daughter turn away from her faith and come to a place where God is no longer important in her life. As her father, this breaks my heart. Yet it has also reminded me of a sobering truth: each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Faith is personal; no one else can believe for us, and no one is exempt from that responsibility. It is deeply painful when someone you love turns away from the One who matters above everything else, but in the end, each of us decides what we will value and how we will live.
That reality has impressed upon me more deeply than ever that people need more than beliefs handed to them by someone else. Each person must understand God’s Word for themselves, become convinced of its truth, and choose whether they will live by it. Jesus himself repeatedly returned to the same unchanging standard: “It is written.” Watching someone I love turn away from that foundation has not made me want to withdraw from the fight; it has made me more determined to spend whatever years God gives me helping others develop a faith firmly rooted in His Word.
At times, however, the magnitude of what we are facing can seem overwhelming. I sometimes picture those of us working together through The Living Truth Fellowship running a race with the Enemy in the lane beside us. We are a relatively small group of believers doing everything we can to research, teach, publish, and distribute biblical truth. Meanwhile, the Adversary has enormous influence throughout this world and relentlessly uses it to corrupt, distract, deceive, and destroy.
If we looked only at the size of the opposition, we might reasonably ask, “What chance do we really have of making a difference?” But that question leaves out the most important reality of all. The Devil is not simply running against us; he is setting himself against Almighty God. We stand on the side of truth, and no power at work in this world can overcome God. The Devil may have enormous influence and countless ways to spread his lies, but he cannot defeat His purposes or extinguish His truth. Once we understand that, the size of the opposition becomes far less intimidating. Our confidence does not come from our numbers, resources, or reach, but from knowing that Almighty God stands with us as we faithfully proclaim His Word. We are not responsible for making the truth popular; we are responsible for making it known.
Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that God does not need great numbers to accomplish something significant. One person who believes Him and is willing to stand and speak can become the means through which God reaches many others. The question is not whether we are big enough, but whether we will remain faithful enough to speak what God has entrusted to us.
Much of Christianity today has become increasingly disconnected from the Bible it claims to represent. Many believers sincerely love God but have never been taught how to understand Scripture for themselves. Others have inherited theological ideas that are confusing, contradictory, or difficult to reconcile with the plain language of Scripture. Some have become discouraged because the version of Christianity presented to them simply does not make sense or because they see hypocrisy in the lives of some who profess to follow Christ. Others have quietly concluded that the Bible has little practical relevance to the problems they face every day.
Our culture has also increasingly elevated tolerance above truth, personal feelings above reality, and acceptance above moral discernment. As a result, many Christians have become hesitant to say that anything is actually true or false, right or wrong. For some, love has come to mean affirming whatever another person believes or chooses. Disagreement is seen as unloving, correction as judgmental, and biblical conviction as intolerance. Once that happens, Scripture is no longer shaping our understanding of love; our culture’s definition of love is shaping how we read Scripture.
If we want to see what a life grounded in truth and love looks like, we need only look at Jesus Christ. He completely trusted his heavenly Father. He loved what God loved, spoke what God gave him to speak, obeyed when obedience was costly, confronted error when truth demanded it, showed compassion to the hurting, and ultimately laid down his life in obedience to the One who sent him. His life demonstrated complete surrender to God. Because Jesus truly lived as a man, his example calls us upward rather than placing him beyond our reach. We can trust the same God he trusted, learn obedience as he did, love people as he loved them, and speak with courage and compassion. We can devote our lives to accomplishing what our heavenly Father has called us to do. That is the Jesus Christ people desperately need to see.
The growing darkness around us should not cause us to retreat. Paul wrote, “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Phil. 2:15–16). God has never asked us to outnumber the darkness; He has asked us to shine in it.
Jesus made clear that this light must be visible in the way we live: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). The light we hold forth is not only the truth we speak; it is also the life we live.
God has made us righteous in Christ, and He calls us to live in a manner consistent with what He has made us. Those of us who have been privileged to know the truth owe it to our families and to everyone whose life we touch to show them what faithfulness to God looks like in practice. Our children, grandchildren, relatives, friends, and fellow believers need more than our instruction; they need an example they can follow. They should see the truth reflected in our integrity, self-control, compassion, forgiveness, courage, and devotion to God.
That requires each of us to take an honest inventory of our behavior. Is there anything in our lives that is contrary to our duty before God, compromises our witness, or dims the light others desperately need to see? If so, we must make the necessary changes. We cannot call others to walk in the light while excusing darkness in ourselves. The life we live may be the clearest testimony we ever give, especially to those closest to us. Our families may forget many of our words, but they will remember whether we lived the truth before them. A life well lived before God leaves behind more than memories; it leaves a path others can follow.
At the end of his life, Paul could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). We should live now so that, when our own race is finished, we can say the same.
We cannot control what happens in our culture, but we can decide what kind of lives we will live within it. We can teach God’s Word accurately, live it authentically, and show those closest to us what a life devoted to God looks like. We may never know how far the influence of such a life will travel, but no life wholly given to God is ever wasted.
The Devil is certainly not timid about spreading lies, and neither should we be timid about proclaiming truth. People are searching, hurting, and confused. Many have never actually been given a clear, reasonable, biblical explanation of the God who loves them and the Lord Jesus Christ whom He sent. We have the privilege of giving them something real to believe, something solid to stand upon, and something worth sharing with others.
This is our time to shine. Let us speak the truth, live the truth, teach the truth, and lovingly hold it out to anyone willing to hear. The darker the world becomes, the brighter the truth must shine.
Shining with you,
