What If That’s Actually True?

When Truth Isn't Yours to Curate

When Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth, he wasn’t offering a gentle metaphor.
He was preparing his followers for a journey that would not only comfort them, but confront them.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” — John 16:13

This week, we’re not asking how to win truth battles online.
We’re asking how to do something countercultural—how to walk into the realm the modern world insists doesn’t exist:
the sphere of truth.

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Aletheia: The Truth That Won’t Bend

The word Jesus (through John) uses for truth is aletheia—a term that means “that which is real,” regardless of your opinion about it.

Let that sit for a moment.

• Truth that is true whether you want it to be or not.

• Truth that remains even when your tribe disagrees with it.

• Truth that exposes both self-delusion and ideological coercion.

That’s not the kind of truth most people want.
It’s not the kind of truth modern culture is built to hold.

Postmodernity taught us that truth is personal, curated, and ever-shifting—something to express rather than discover.

“This is my truth.”
“You have your truth.”

And we baptized that language in tolerance and called it virtue.

But here’s the honest reckoning: it’s not working.

We are drowning in self-curated realities and algorithmic ideologies, and people are more fractured, anxious, and uncertain than ever before.
When truth becomes whatever I need it to be, I end up cut off from what I actually need:
the God who is true—whether I acknowledge him or not.

But aletheia doesn’t only confront the relativist.
It also confronts the ideologue—the person who has weaponized truth into a rigid code of belonging.

• The cultural activist who shouts, “This is the truth, and if you don’t agree, you’re canceled.”

• The fundamentalist who insists that their tradition or interpretation is the truth, and nothing else must be considered.

Both have replaced the Spirit of Truth with the spirit of power.

And then there’s the skeptic—the tired soul who no longer believes any truth can be trusted.
Especially not spiritual truth.
Especially not Jesus.
Especially not Scripture.

Morality? Invented.
God? Culturally shaped.
Everything is dated, suspect, or up for revision.

We live in a time when ideologies about identity, gender, and power are not just theories—they’re tests of belonging. Many of us have watched people we love, shaped by these ideologies, walk far from the truth that actually exists. And in their pain or passion, they ask us to walk away from that truth too.

But into all of this confusion, Jesus still sends the Spirit.
And the Spirit still guides—not into your truth or my truth, but into the fullness of God’s truth.

Not all at once.
Not always easily.
But steadily. Lovingly. Relentlessly.

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The Guide Who Walks With You

Into a world drowning in truth confusion and truth subversion comes a Guide.
Not a slogan. Not a program.
Not another pundit shouting into the void.

But a Person.
The Spirit of Truth.

And he brings the offer of a lifetime:

“I can lead you into what is truly true—if you’re courageous enough to go there.”

This isn’t new truth. It’s anchored in Jesus, grounded in Scripture, and illuminated by the Spirit who helps us understand what God has already revealed.

The word Jesus used in John 16:13 is hodēgeō.
It means more than simply giving directions.
It describes someone who walks the road with you—step by step—until you reach the destination.

This isn’t a silent tour guide with a clipboard.
This is a teacher. A companion. A midwife for the soul.

But don’t misunderstand: this journey isn’t safe.

To follow the Spirit of Truth means your version of the truth will not survive the trip.

Your carefully curated worldview—crafted by pain, preference, ideology, or tribe—will have to yield.
Because the thing that is real—truly, stubbornly, eternally real—is not weak, bendable, or easily drowned out by loud voices.

And so, your way will have to go.
Your truth will have to give way.

Not because God is cruel,
but because He is not content to let you live a lie.

But here’s the staggering beauty:
This Guide doesn’t just show you the trail and vanish.
He walks every mile with you.

• When you wander, he brings you back.

• When you lose heart, he strengthens your spine.

• When the path is steep, he fortifies your will.

• When the truth is too sharp, he reminds you it heals.

• When everything feels confusing, he slows the moment down—and teaches you one step at a time.

This is not an impersonal map.
This is a Presence—alive, wise, patient, holy—committed to walking you into the fullness of truth.

So if you’re weary of spin, exhausted by shouting, or quietly wondering if there’s more to life than curated certainty, this is your invitation:

You don’t have to find your own way.
You just have to follow the One who knows it.

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So What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

At some point, anyone serious about following the Spirit of Truth will ask:

“Okay. What does this actually look like—in my life?”

If I choose to be led, what should I expect?

Here’s the honest answer:
It will rewire you. Reorient you.
It will mess with your comfort.
But it will also lead you into something more real than you’ve ever known.

Here’s where the path begins:

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1. You become a truth-taster.

This isn’t just a theological moment.
This is a life-immersion.

You don’t just think about truth—you taste it. You drink it. You breathe it in.
This truth doesn’t stay on the page. It gets into your bones.

Like honey on the tongue.
Like cool water when you didn’t know how thirsty you were.

And when that happens—when you taste truth at that level—it starts to change what you hunger for.

You lose your appetite for spin.
You stop craving applause.
You want more of what is solid, nourishing, real.

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2. You become a truth-liver.

This truth—the real thing, the Jesus-kind—doesn’t live in spreadsheets or algorithms or slogans.
It lives in people.

It shows up in how you forgive.
How you work.
How you speak when no one’s watching.
How you let go of what no longer fits the life Jesus is calling you into.

And yes—this will make your life harder before it makes it better.

You’ll have to unlearn some things you were praised for.
You’ll have to release what your teachers or your tribe called “freedom” if it turns out to be bondage.

But when the truth starts to shape your life, the path you walk begins to feel whole.
It is not easier—but it is better.
More honest. More grounded. More alive.

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3. You become a truth-teller.

You can’t live truth without eventually speaking it.

But this isn’t about being loud.
It’s not about being clever.
And it is never about being cruel.

Spirit-led truth-telling is different.

It’s not fueled by superiority—but by clarity.
It’s not aimed at winning—but at witnessing.

You tell the truth in a way that makes people admire Jesus—even if they don’t yet believe in him.
You carry yourself in a way that causes others to wonder:

What if that’s actually true?

That’s what the Spirit of Truth does.

He doesn’t just download facts.
He forms a kind of person.

A person who tastes.
Lives.
Speaks.
And embodies the reality of God’s goodness in a world starved for what’s real.

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💬 Want to Go Deeper?

Every Wednesday, I create a spiritual formation tool exclusively for paid subscribers. These are designed not just to read—but to practice the truths we’re exploring.

This week’s tool centers on John 16:13 and helps you personally walk through the movements of truth-tasting, truth-living, and truth-telling. It can be used in your own time with God or shared with a small group, formation circle, or mentoring conversation.

If this post resonated with you, consider subscribing to support this work—and to receive these weekly tools that help anchor spiritual truth in real life.

👉 Become a paid subscriber to access weekly formation tools like this one
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🕊 Blessing for Midweek

May the Spirit of Truth
reorder your desires,
renew your mind,
and walk beside you on the path that leads to fullness.