In the mid seventies an attorney explained his preference for a jury pool. If my client is innocent, both complex and simple stories, give me a group of street savvy mothers from the inner city. They know truth when they hear it; somewhere in their inner being they go beyond the words to sense exactly where to separate fiction from reality. On the other hand, if I am not sure about my client’s innocence, give me a pool of academic professors. While they have no idea of right from wrong they will follow bread crumbs of logic.
At the time I thought this was a very cynical way to approach the American judicial system. Having a few more miles under my belt since then has caused me to question my initial reaction. In many ways his words ring true today. We know the truth. We may not realize it, be willing to admit it, or be willing or able to deal with it, but we know right from wrong. Our bodies sense it, we get stronger in the truth, and we find ourselves with more energy when following truth’s path. Yet we still wonder, question, and convince ourselves that we are lost without a guide.
Testimony of old was direct. “John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’”” (John 1.32, 33) People listened to the words of others with their hearts. If the words were true then they took it truth’s lead.
I wonder who is more cynical. The one who trusts truth where it is found, looking at life for what it is, or the one who seeks a coating of intellectual logic in order to be convinced?
God is talking to you and me. Are we listening?
