Buy the Truth

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:1-3a)

The food and drink that these verses refer to is the truth contained in the Word of God - the Truth that sets us free. It is the one thing, and only thing, that can satisfy the hungering and thirsting soul. Just as water sustains the life of every living thing, so also does Jesus, the Fountain of Living Waters, sustain the spiritual life of believers. And as bread and meat nourish the body, and give it the necessary nutrients to encourage growth and give strength, Jesus also, the Bread of Life, strengthens us spiritually and causes us to grow into His likeness. He provides us with the milk of the Word for the babes, and strong meat for the more mature, and the wine of the Spirit to empower all of our lives.

I have always thought that, because these verses indicate that we can obtain this food and drink without money and without price, that there was no cost at all, that what the Lord offers us is free. The verses state, however, that we are to "buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." There is, therefore, a price to be paid, and our money can do us no good in purchasing the truth. The price that we must pay is our lives. There are many who seek knowledge and truth, but they want it on their terms, and are unwilling to surrender their lives and their wills to the Lord. These find the truth to be a stumbling block rather than the healing balm that it is intended to be.

There are many things that our money can buy, but none of them can heal our souls. Proverbs 23 tells us, "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words." (Proverbs 23:1-3, 6-8) It is very important that we know who we are eating with, and what they are setting before us. Every day of our lives we are offered things that look and taste appealing, but they are deceitful meat. Just as a steady diet of sugary treats and confections may be pleasing to the palette, in time it will have a detrimental effect on our body and our health. It may be better to, "put a knife to thy throat" rather than to "taste of his dainties." We must be wary of what we hear, what we read, and what we watch. Television, movies, radio, books and magazines, and the internet all offer us some wonderful tools and opportunities, but they can also vex our spirits with images and ideas that we would be better off not exposing ourselves to. Even the music that we listen to can influence our moods and our values. "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?"

Matthew, in the 25th chapter of his gospel, tells the story of the ten virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom to return. "And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." (Matthew 25:6-10) Five of the virgins, we are told, were wise, and five were foolish. The wise took their lamps and extra oil to last them through the night, but the foolish did not provide themselves with extra oil. Both had their lights shining initially, but the foolish had their lights fail in the darkest hour when they needed the light the most. When the cry went forth that the bridegroom had returned, the wise virgins had light to see to go to him. The foolish did not. When the foolish virgins tried to borrow oil from the wise, the five wise virgins said, "Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves."

Again, the price of discipleship is our lives. The lesson here, however, is that we can't expect to wait until the need is great and the darkness has surrounded us and then decide to give our all - by then it may be too late. "Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6) Now is the time to be drawing near to the Lord and committing our lives and our loves to Him. Then, we can be assured that we will have light to guide us when we go through dark times. The water of the Word and the oil of the Spirit will fuel our passion, and preserve us in the darkest hour.

All of the ten were virgins (pure and untouched), and all of them possessed lamps in which the flame burned and gave off light (the light of truth), and all of them were waiting for the bridegroom to return (Jesus is the Bridegroom); but, the difference was in not obtaining enough oil beforehand to keep them through the night. Let us, therefore, be like the wise virgins and go to the Lord daily, laying down our lives, and buying His precious oil so that our lamps will never dim. He will feed us, He will quench our thirsty souls, and He will anoint our lives so that all will see the light of the truth in us. Moreover, we will have plenty of light to guide us during the dark times in our lives.

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." (Proverbs 23:23)