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By Mike Caton

John 7:48, “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?”

The Pharisees are ridiculing the temple guards, accusing them of being deceived by Jesus. The Pharisees don’t ridicule the guards for believing in Jesus, but for being deceived by him. These men have decided Jesus is not the Messiah, they have decided he needs to go, and they are looking for a way to get rid of him. And their logic is, none of us believe in him, therefore he is not who he claims to be.

This attitude could have come right off the news this morning. It seems as if everyone (and I know that is not quite true) is condemning everyone else who does not hold their opinion. How can you be a Christian and vote for . . . ? How can you have a brain and think . . . about the virus? Those thoughts, those accusations, those put downs are thrown from every side. This thinking is, if I believe something, it is true and everyone who doesn’t believe as I do is a moron. (I tried to think of a nicer word here!)

The fallacy is right there in the premise; If I believe it, it is true. That is backward thinking. It ought to read; because it is true, I will believe it. Our quest ought to be to find the truth, we need to search, to ask questions, to listen to folks we don’t necessarily agree with, and we need to follow the facts to their logical and truthful conclusion. Francis Chan once said, “When I disagree with something in God’s Word, I just assume that I’m wrong.” That needs to be the attitude we all have, and we need to allow the word of God to change us. That cannot happen when we stubbornly and blindly refuse to listen to anything except what we already hold as truth.

Father, help me never quit searching for truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works part time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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