The Spirit, Truth, and Trouble
A Compass Post | Monday, June 23
Some of the most sobering words Jesus ever spoke came at a dinner table.
Hours before his arrest, Jesus tells his disciples that the world will misunderstand and mistreat them.
“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also... They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” — John 15:20–21
Persecution, we often think, means physical harm. But the word is wider than that. It means pressure. Being pushed out. Having your credibility, your convictions—or even your humanity—called into question. And Jesus said: expect it.
It’s easy to assume this kind of opposition only happens in history books—or on distant shores. But it’s happening now, in rooms we know.
A Personal Story
My daughter was in one of the country’s top social work graduate programs. Early in the semester, a professor looked out over a packed lecture hall and asked if anyone was a Christian.
She was the only one who raised her hand.
The professor locked eyes with her and said in front of the whole class: "If you’re a Christian, you will make a horrible social worker. You should drop out of this program."
It was jarring—not just because of the hostility, but because of the very ignorance of the professor, who was unaware that the roots of modern social work were planted by Christians driven by compassion, mercy, and justice. What began as a deeply Christian vocation of mercy had, in that moment, become a professional liability.
Jesus said this would happen.
A Warning and a Promise
Just a few verses later, at that same meal, Jesus tells them something else:
“They will put you out of the synagogues… the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” — John 16:2
And almost in the same breath:
“But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” — John 16:13
Let that settle in.
The same Spirit who comforts us also leads us straight into the kind of truth that gets people thrown out of respectable rooms.
The Spirit doesn’t just give us peace. He gives us clarity. Conviction. Courage. And sometimes that puts us in harm’s way.
We often think of the Holy Spirit as a warm presence. A gentle whisper. A spiritual high. But Jesus calls him the Spirit of Truth. And truth—the kind that shapes us and frees us—rarely earns applause.
If you’re going to follow the Rabbi, the Spirit won’t just comfort you. He’ll make you honest. And in this cultural moment, honesty has a cost.
The Truth They Cannot Bear
In a public address at Oxford, Christian apologist John Lennox recalled a moment when prominent scientists—including Richard Dawkins and Andrew Crouse—reportedly suggested that the proper response to Christians is "mockery and ridicule."
Lennox wasn’t peddling outrage. He was bearing witness. What he saw was a cultural climate where truth is no longer contested with reason, but dismissed with scorn.
I’m not drawn to apologetics that aim to win arguments. I’m drawn to a Spirit-led witness that lives truthfully, courageously, and compassionately—even when it costs us.
We’re not imagining this. It’s unfolding around us. Which is why the deeper invitation of spiritual formation for a deeper, dustier life with Jesus matters more than ever.
The Dust of the Rabbi—and the Cost of Discipleship
This is why discipleship isn’t just about feeling close to God. It’s about walking closely enough that his dust covers your feet.
Because in a world where the dominant strategy is to shame, isolate, or exhaust those who live by truth, we don’t need slicker programs. We need deeper proximity.
Bonhoeffer understood this. In The Cost of Discipleship, he wrote:
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves… grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Bonhoeffer wasn’t critiquing unbelievers. He was warning the church. He saw what happens when Christianity adapts to culture instead of abiding in Christ.
He knew firsthand the price of truth in a hostile world—and he knew we would need more than sentimentality or surface-level belief to withstand it.
He knew we would need the Spirit of Truth.
Where This Is Going
This week is a call to clarity. It’s also a call to courage.
Wednesday’s formation tool will help us discern truth in confusing times. Thursday will trace the life of John Woolman—a man whose quiet, contemplative faith gave rise to brave resistance against slavery. Friday will speak boldly into the cultural moment: the expansion of euthanasia in Canada, the suppression of speech in parts of Europe, and the quiet erosion of truth dressed up in modern virtue.
But today—on this Monday morning—I just want to remind you: Jesus didn’t hide the cost of truth. But neither did he leave us alone to face it.
He sent the Spirit of Truth to guide us. To strengthen us. To steady us in love.
So if you’re feeling the cultural pressure… if truth seems slippery, and your convictions feel costly… you’re not off-track. You may be exactly where Jesus said you’d be.
And the dust of the Rabbi is still being kicked up on this narrow path. Let it cover your feet.
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Let the Spirit of Truth guide you. Let the dust of the Rabbi cover you.
Blessing for the Week:
May the Spirit of Truth guide you,
the love of Christ hold you,
and the dust of the Rabbi cling to your feet.
Amen.
Gratefully,
Gene