The Whole Truth

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: John 4:16-19  (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. 17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. (John 4:16–19 NLT)

By telling the “Woman at the Well” (That’s how history knows her! I wonder if her name was Mary, or Rachel, or Sarah?) to go get her husband, Jesus put his finger on a key issue in her life. The answer the woman gave in response to Jesus word was not a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth. She spoke the truth, but not the whole truth! Jesus knew the whole truth about her!

The Samaritan woman wasn’t the only one who is adept at not lying but also not telling the whole truth! It’s a skill we all learn pretty early in life. Telling the whole truth can be scary! Telling the whole truth can be embarrassing. Telling the whole truth can put you at risk of rejection. Telling the whole truth can get you in trouble. I wonder which of these fears was the primary motivation for her to not tell a lie but also to not tell the whole truth?

Jesus knows the whole truth about us and loves us, accepts us, and values us just as we are. And even better, he’s willing to put his finger on an area of needed change in our lives to help us become more like himself and more like the person we were born to become. I encourage you to trust Jesus and his unconditional love for you and his acceptance of you. Trust him enough to tell him the whole truth and trust him enough to help you change and grow.

And one more thing! We also need someone who can be “Jesus with skin on” we can tell our “whole truth” to. That’s even more scary! Ask God to guide you into relationship with someone with whom you can be 100% honest. It’s risky. You may want to start with 50%! Then as trust grows move to 75% and beyond. But make sure you’re someone who can be trusted with 100% of someone else’s “whole truth”!

Prayer:

Father, I trust you with my “whole truth.” Thank you for a few relationships of trust in which I can tell almost 100% of my “whole truth.” Help me be a person who can be trusted with another’s “whole truth.” In Jesus’ Name!