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Truth vs. Fact

I have worked for a lawyer full-time for 12 years and for about 3 years on and off before that. I've seen a LOT of facts and a LOT of lies come through the office.  We have spent a LOT of time sifting through all of the information we are presented with to help our clients get the best possible outcome for their situation.  Many times I'm saddened that someone that was very deserving got a terrible outcome and many times I'm frustrated with those that "win" though they didn't deserve it (in my opinion, anyway).

But never once have I stopped to weigh truth vs. fact.  I guess on some level I just assumed they were the same.  Or, that they led to the same conclusions.  In a devotional by Charles Stanley this morning, he raised questions for me about this topic and it sent me searching for more information.  I was blown away by a simple analogy I found on a Focus on the Family website regarding this topic.

That article related a fact to a stray puzzle piece...it's an object, an article, a fragment of information, a bit of trivia.  Factum, the original Latin word actually only means: a thing done.

Truth, it said, is all about the meaning...or, discerning truth is a matter of interpreting the facts.

Then, here is where I was shocked I never pulled the correlations out.  They described a courtroom.  (Hello!  That is right up my alley!)  You have two attorney's being given two separate sets of facts from two extremely different frames of references.  At my work, we represent an array of people from DUI's, divorces, criminal, custody, probate, etc.  Each time my boss goes into court, he presents the facts he has been given.  The other attorney offers their facts.  Then they try to poke holes in that sides facts.  The judge and/or the jury are left with discerning the truths AS THEY UNDERSTANDS THEM.  That last part is important: as they understand the truth to be.

We are a flawed people.  We take facts and use them to our advantage, whether they were truth or not.  We take facts about people and make them truths we trust.  I came across a waiter last night that, at first, some clear facts about him made me judge the core of who he was.  But, I was quickly reminded me of a quote our pastor read this week: You will never lay eyes on someone that God doesn't love. (something like that)

Truth was that man is a loved creation of Christ.  So was the man who cut me off in traffic last night...and the two that cut me off today.  Facts seem to allow us to judge people and circumstances in the light of what we believe.

Truth, though, that lies in Christ.  Jesus said, "I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life.  No matter comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)

Fact is, I am a work in progress.  Truth is that God loves me without measure, without judgment.  Today, I'm happy to walk in His truth.

(Here are some verses about truth is you want to do some further reading: https://dailyverses.net/truth)

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