Truth & Lies

Today’s Reading: Matthew 27:1-10

I never really felt sorrow for Judas before, but after really focusing on his story I do, well maybe it is more like pity, but regardless I see his story in a different way now. At some point Judas stopped listening to Jesus and let the riches of this world persuade him. He got caught up in the things of this world and then he became lost in the lies. From reading these scriptures you can just feel the regret that he has now, the shame for what he has done, so much so that he hangs himself. Why didn’t he ask for forgiveness? Would he have been forgiven? He knew Jesus, he talked with him, he had been by his side, yet he betrayed him. I have often wondered how someone can be so close to Jesus and then turn against him. How did it happen? I am sure it started with a thought, with a whisper from the lips of Satan convincing Judas that he deserved better, that he was smarter than the rest, that he could do something even greater than what Jesus was telling him. All lies, and Satan is more than obliged to tell us these lies, he would love nothing more than to cause us harm by these lies, to pull us away from Jesus with everyone that we listen to. Sometimes we concentrate on the ‘good stories’, the positive stories of the Bible, but every word is written for a reason, every story is placed within its pages for our benefit, a lesson for us, and this one is no different. There is song by Sidewalk Prophets that says ‘I was Judas’ kiss, but you loved me anyway’ and while none of us want to admit that we have betrayed Jesus, we all have! With every sin we commit we betray him, like or not, it is just the truth. And I will be perfectly honest, it makes me uncomfortable to write things like this, but every word matters, every story counts, good or bad. Judas’ story is there for us to learn from, Jesus shows us how to love, and Judas’ story makes us aware of how very dangerous Satan can be if we allow him in our life, if only for a moment. When we hear Satan’s name terrible thoughts come to our mind, but I want to tell you that his lies do not look or sound terrible, in fact, his lies are sweet and they are sometimes what I ears want to hear, and that is why we need to keep our mind on Jesus every minute of everyday. Jesus will only speak truth to us and while it may not always be what we want to hear, it is the truth and it is for our benefit. I have heard my whole life that Satan wants you, but I don’t think he wants any of us, to want something you have to care about it and he doesn’t care about us. The only thing Satan wants is to keep us away from Jesus, he doesn’t want us, he just wants Jesus not to have us. The truth is Jesus’ love is what we need to survive this world, we just have to receive it and then give it. Don’t let the sweet lies of Satan taint the love that Jesus pours over you.