Just the Facts, Ma'am

Everyone Has the Facts

My title quotes a favorite line from the old television show and even older radio program, “Dragnet.” Los Angeles plain clothes policemen Sargeant Joe Friday and his partner Officer Bill Gannon investigated various crimes weekly to determine the culprits involved. Invariably, they would encounter some colorful, chatty character who would delight in embellishing her answers and adding irrelevant anecdotes about her “suspicious” neighbors or maybe her cat to the straightforward questions posed. At some point, Sargeant Friday, played by the emotionless Jack Webb, would necessarily interrupt the needless dialogue with his deadpan, gritty voice insisting, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Any search for information from 1949-1970 required lots of shoe-leather, face-to-face conversations, and, in the case of Friday and Gannon, plenty of Chesterfield cigarettes. Not so today.

This is “The Information Age.” In the palms of our hands, we hold access to more information than anyone in the history of human existence. Whether it be current events or ancient tomes, recipes or how-to videos, theater or music, schedules or weather, we can find material on literally any subject we choose. When we turn off our easy access portals, we are still bombarded on every side with more information we may not ask for or desire.

My oldest son decided he wanted to step up his musical abilities from saxophone and bass guitar to playing lead guitar. Everything he needed and more he found online. From practice scales to instruction videos from some of the best players in the business, it was all offered at no cost. He put in the work, and not only did he become a lead guitar player, he also learned more music theory than the bulk of music majors understand. What information do you wish to acquire? It is all out there all the time.

What Difference Does It Make?

The information superhighway, unfortunately, has not resulted in an improved society. Understanding nutrition and exercise has made no difference in our health. Connections with the greatest scholars in the world going back thousands of years have made us no wiser. Realizing the differences in individuals and the influence of harsh circumstances they may face has made us no kinder.

We can now see with our own eyes the lives of unborn children. We watch via ultrasound as these heathy little humans kick and stretch and suck their thumbs, but it does little to convince abortion-minded mothers that they are already moms. The graphic details pertaining to the procedure of killing, dismembering, and removing these unborn children are widely publicized, but they did not dissuade 1.13 million mothers in the United States from murdering their unborn infants in 2025. (That equals 94,167 every month, 3,096 daily, 129 per hour, and 2.15 every minute of every day.)

Scripture, containing the wisdom of the Creator, at our fingertips has failed to change us for the good. For instance, Gideon Bibles are sitting unused in hotel rooms across this country while some of the most dishonest, depraved, disgusting, and destructive activity occurs five feet away. The “Greatest Story Ever Told” is well known but even this holiest of all information has not stemmed the downward spiral of America into personal isolation, selfishness, and sinfulness.

INFORMATION DOES NOT CHANGE US!

We Do Not “Know” What We Know

The words of Jesus recorded in John 8:32 have become a well-used proverb even throughout communities unaware of its origin. Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The word “know” is translated from a Greek word that has a richer meaning than merely being aware of a fact. Jesus is telling us that we will have a “sure understanding and an intimate perception” of the truth. Our full and deep appreciation from this deep connection with the truth is what brings liberty. Knowing, or intimate perception, requires Divine revelation, and revelation requires relationship.

Our Heavenly Father, keenly cognizant of our insufficiency, did what He has done from the beginning of human existence. He made the first move and offers the relationship we require to move facts from our brains to life-changing truths written upon our hearts. He sent Jesus to us! John 1:14 explains:

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.
And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Everything that God wants us to understand about who He is and what He is like became visible and lived in the person of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews in chapter one, verses 2-3 declares:

“And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through his Son.
God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance,
and through the Son He created the universe.
The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God,
and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command. When He had cleansed us from our sins,
He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

What Are You Expecting to Find?

God has also given us Scripture to draw us into the “intimate perception” of His intentions, His will, and His purposes for His creation, including you and me. But the Bible possesses a unique characteristic unlike any other manuscript, and that characteristic is present whether the Bible is bound in book form, flashed on a phone, posted on a tablet, or projected onto the wall. When we look into the Bible, we discover that the Bible is looking into us! Hebrews 4:12 describes the phenomenon:

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword,
cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Your Bible is reading you! Scripture knows our hearts’ motivation, exactly what we are thinking, and why we are engaging the Word. Checking off our daily reading box will yield information, but it will not enrich our relationship with the Lord. Searching for that one verse to reinforce a preconceived notion will give up nothing but facts. Christianity is not mastering the contents of the parables, the order of the New Testament books, or the stories of the Old Testament heroes.

Christianity is Knowing Jesus!

Skip through the theological facts and develop a deep, intimate relationship with the Lover of Our Souls! Moses asked God to show him His ways because his heart yearned to know God more personally and fully. The result was a friendship wherein the Lord of Glory met one-on-one with Moses. David sensed the invitation of God inviting him to seek His face and David responded wholeheartedly, “I am coming to seek Your face, Lord!”

Come and See

All that any of us have to bring to the Lord are our empty hands, inadequate words, and minds full of unanswered questions. Do not let that hinder you,

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
(John 3:16)

God loves you with an everlasting love and longs for your stammering lips and your awkward approach much more than you have capacity to desire His holy presence. So come, not for factoids, but for the friendship that will reveal ancient truths and bring eternal light to your heart. Come, not for just a glance, but to look directly into His holiness, to gaze upon His loveliness, to revel in the splendor of His glory, and to find the joy of reaching His heart.

Your questions, your inadequacies, and your weaknesses retreat into the shadows as you wait and rest in the light of His love and the brilliance of His presence:
To Know Him!