Perfect Fit
When Spanish conquistadors marched into Peru in the 1500’s, the land was ruled by the Incas. The Spaniards found Inca walls and foundations built of stones fitted together without the benefit of any mortar. Many of these walls still stand today. Some of the stones used in the construction weigh in at over 100 tons and took hours upon hours of painstaking labor to shape using smaller “hammer” stones to chip away the excess rock on the faces. The edges of a block were shaped so they would match exactly with the contours of an adjoining block. The stones were fitted so carefully that even now it is impossible to insert a razor blade between many of them.
In 1950, an earthquake shook the mountains of Peru and destroyed or damaged 90 percent of the capital city’s modern buildings. Upon inspection, only a few of the joints in the Inca walls had shifted a small amount, but the walls, still undamaged, stood firm.
I thought about this when I read Titus 1:1. Paul writes of the "knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.” The word Paul uses that we translate as “knowledge” doesn’t mean that God’s truth is given a courtesy nod, but it speaks of a precise understanding of the truth. This understanding accompanies (or “accords with”) godliness or reverence for God. A fine-tuned knowledge of truth leads to deeper worship of God.
Our personal beliefs sometimes may fail to match God’s truth precisely. We might adopt and adapt truth to fit our scheme of thought, but when we try that approach, we weaken the entire structure. If we desire our beliefs to stand the shaking that rises daily against them, we must have a correct and precise knowledge of the truth based upon God’s Word. Beliefs must be established upon, shaped by, and conformed to God’s unchanging standard, fitted so carefully that nothing can wedge itself between the belief and truth itself.
Are you willing to ask God, “How closely do my beliefs fit with your truth?
Pray that...
We will allow God to use his truth to expose and correct any misguided thoughts or motives within us. - Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
We would be faithful to think about, focus upon, delight in and always remember God's Word. - Psalm 119:15-16 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
We will surrender to the power of God's truth to purify and transform us. - John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."