A person stands before judge and jury, places one hand on the Bible and the other in the air, and makes a pledge. For the next few minutes, with God as his/her helper, they will “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

They are a witnesses. Their job is not to expand upon nor dilute the truth. Their job is to tell the truth. Leave it to the legal counsel to interpret. Leave it to the jury to resolve. Leave it to the judge to apply. But the witnesses? The witnesses speak the truth. Let them do or less and they taint the outcome. But let them do that – let them tell the truth – and justice has a chance.

The Christian, too, is a witness. We, too, make a pledge. Like the witness in court, we are called to tell the truth. The bench may be absent and the judge unseen, but the Bible is present, the watching world is the jury, and we are the primary witnesses. We are subpoenaed by no less than Jesus himself: “You will be my witnesses – in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world” (Acts 1:8).

We are witnesses. And like witnesses in a court, we are called to testify, to tell what we have seen and heard. And we are to speak truthfully. Out task is not to whitewash nor bloat the truth. Our task is to tell the truth. Period.

There is, however, one difference between the witness in court and the witness for Christ. The witness in court eventually steps down from the witness chair, but the witness for Christ never does. Since the claims of Christ are always on trial, court is perpetually in session, and we remain under oath. For the Christian, deception is never an option. It wasn’t an option for Jesus.

One of the most astounding assessments of Christ is this summary: “He had done nothing wrong, and he had never lied” (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus was staunchly honest. His every word accurate, His every sentence true. No cheating on tests. No altering the accounts. Not once did Jesus stretch the truth. Not once did He shade the truth. Not once did He avoid the truth. He simply told the truth. No deceit was found in His mouth.

And if God has His way with us, none will be found in ours. He longs for us to be just like Jesus. His plan is to shape us along the lines of his Son (Romans 8:28). Examine your heart. Ask yourself the tough questions. Do you tell the truth . . . always? If not, start today. Be just like Jesus. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What do you think? — Thoughts from reading “Nothing but the Truth” by Max Lucado (Just Like Jesus)