They could be saved, but they will refuse to love the truth and accept it…All of them will be punished, because they would rather do evil than believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).
It sounds like a pretty important thing to love the truth! How can you do that?
You can start by being humble and receiving truth from other people whenever they speak to you about something in your life. A lot of times for a child, that will take the form of receiving correction from a parent. But it could also come from another adult who knows you. It could even come from another child who is concerned about something they saw you do or heard you say that they know just isn’t right. It can be hard to “love the truth” in that situation! But if you want to be saved, it’s crucial to love truth, even when it hurts. That means being humble enough to receive things from other people when they want to talk to you about sin or about your need for a Savior.
You can also take it a step further! Don’t wait for someone to come to you with correction. Voluntarily tell your parents—or another Christian that you trust—about sin in your life, even if they haven’t seen it. Be REAL! Don’t present a false picture of who you REALLY are. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to act like you are sailing through life without any problems if it isn’t true. Does someone even need to be saved if they are not lost? It’s so much better just to be honest and truthful with people who care and who know how to help.
Another important part of loving truth is something we’ve already talked a lot about—listening. Whatever the truth you are learning, make a habit of careful listening. Hold onto truth and DO something about it. James certainly put it clearly:
God notices when you love truth! He will come near and become more real to you. If you take little baby steps toward God, He will take ten giant steps toward you. God is searching for YOU. He wants YOU. He wants YOUR heart. God is looking at your heart, saying, “If you will just move toward Me because you want to know Me, then I’ll run towards you!” He IS just that faithful! He’s just that good! There are actually only a few people on the face of this earth who truly CARE. “The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong” (2 Chronicles 16:9). You can be one of those few!
So CHOOSE to FEED on TRUTH. Take the place of someone who doesn’t know it all and doesn’t have it all together. Don’t just read God’s Word. Cry out to JESUS! Tell Him you need Him. Tell Him you want to know and love His truth. He will hear you!
