"you can't handle the truth!"

...that's the well known line from A FEW GOOD MEN, the military/court room drama starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. i think it's true in the Christian/religous world as well. a devotional i read recently drew me to 2 Timothy 4. in it, Paul writes to Timothy about always speaking and teaching the TRUTH, and not just what people want to hear. another portion of scripture that connects with this thought is John 14:6, where Christ says: "I am the way, and the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."(NRSV, emphasis mine). this is crystal clear. truth is not relative, Jesus Christ is truth. this is hard to handle, and even harder to express. i still don't know the right way to say that Jesus Christ is the only truth that matters when it comes to religious issues. this is where it gets tough. lots of people will say Jesus was a great guy, a teacher and a philosopher, but they don't want to accept the fact that He was God and He is the only way to God. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias, and But Don't All Religions Lead to God by Michael Green are books that look into this issue, and these are three that i'm thinking about now. i'm sure there are more. let's take Paul's words to Timothy for us as well: "...be prepared in season and out of season..." to speak and teach truth (2 Timothy 4:2, NIV).