John Keats (1795-1821), an English poet, was focusing on two scenes painted on a Sosibios vase, and penned these lines at the end his ode to that urn: “When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”¹

Although this renown romantic poet was giving praise to this piece of Greek pottery he made the ethical point, that the beauty of truth rests in the fact that it will outlast all of the discord and cynical thoughts of mankind who dispute reality and have only distrust for those who think differently than they do.

This is so true when it comes to God’s Word. Atheists, agnostics, and unbelievers have rejected the Bible as a source of wisdom and truth for centuries. But what is so disconcerting, is that we live in an era when not only have many believers left their Bibles unopened laying on their nightstands or stuffed in a drawer, but a number of ministers no longer believe it is relevant to modern society and therefore have written their own bibles to preach from.

Jesus foresaw this development because He echoes the words of the wise young Psalmist who said: “Your eternal Word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven forever,”² when gave this promise to His disciples and all who would come to follow Him: “Heaven and earth will become obsolete, but My words will never become obsolete.”³

That’s why we look at the cross instead of an ancient urn and see the wonder of God’s love displayed in the dying Lamb of God, the one who is called the Way, the Truth, and the Life, giving Himself so that we who were destined to die might instead receive the gift of everlasting life and say: How beautiful is the Truth, yes, the Truth is beautiful, and that’s all we have been given to know, and all we will ever need to know. – Dr. Robert R Seyda