A man once stood before King Henry VIII and preached a very bold sermon. King Henry was very displeased by the sermon and ordered the man to preach again the following Sunday and to offer an apology for the offence. Many emotions ran through the man’s mind. He knew who he was tasked to speak to the next Sunday. He knew that he was to speak before the high and mighty monarch, the kings most excellent majesty who could take away his life if he offended him. Yet the man also considered from where he came. This man, this preacher carried a message sent by the great and mighty God of heaven. The God who is all present, all powerful and sees the actions and the ways of man. The God who will cast unrighteous souls into hell and eternally reward the faithful.
The easy thing to do is to say what one knows people want to hear and avoid statements that are known to be disagreeable. This is considered cordial and socially acceptable. It is considered socially unacceptable to make statements of fact that disagree with someone else’s perception of reality. Many times that which people want to hear is very far from the truth. To many people the truth is uncomfortable, difficult, and challenging. However truth is one of those things that is absolutely necessary in order to face reality.
God sent prophets to deliver truth to His people...and His people were uncomfortable with that truth. The truth that the prophets carried to the people often pointed out that their worship, their actions, and their hearts were lacking and needed to change. God sent Moses to deliver the truth to Pharaoh...and Pharaoh was uncomfortable with that truth. The truth that Moses carried pointed out to Pharaoh that God (not himself) was in control and that was not something that Pharaoh wanted to believe. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to deliver truth to a doomed nation...and that is not something that Jonah or Nineveh were comfortable with. Nineveh came face to face with this hard reality that they were going to be destroyed and they repented and changed their ways. The truth of their change was even harder for Jonah who wanted nothing less than to see Nineveh destroyed. The truth that God forgives was an uncomfortable truth to Jonah. God sent Jesus into the world to deliver truth...and the world was not comfortable with that truth. Jesus’ truth points out to the world the changes that need to be made, where people are wrong, and their own inconsistencies.
In every age of man, only a few people would receive the uncomfortable truth that was being presented. However, in EVERY single age, there was always a small group of people who thrived on the truth. They desired truth, wanted to know truth, and allowed truth to shape and mold them into that which God wanted them to be. Are you one of those few that truly love, desire, and crave truth? Are you one of the few who want truth even when that truth demands change? Are you one of the few for who truth is not uncomfortable, but rather relieving even when truth demands change?
As Christians, we are presented with the task of carrying truth to the world. We must realize that by and large uncomfortable truth will be rejected...it always has been. Yet in every period of time including today, there are a few people who desire to know and be molded by sometimes difficult truth. Let us never be discouraged from presenting truth by the uncomfortable majority. Let us seek out, find, and lead to truth the few that are out there seeking for that truth. Let us never forget that we don’t answer to the world or the uncomfortable majority. We answer to the God of heaven!
