THE CHASE FOR TRUTH

THURSDAY 26 AUGUST
Last night a ‘new boy’ (someone in the first ten days of living in the house, in the early stages of withdrawal) left the Brothers’ House. He had been here for 9 days, clean and cared for, loved and prayed for constantly. If only he’d stayed another 24 hours, perhaps then he would have made it through.

But what struck me the most is that no one wanted him to leave. The brothers had gathered around him all day, praying for him intensely hoping to see him through to the victory that is only found in Jesus Christ and to the truth that would set him free. But he didn’t make it this time and he walked out, with the assurance that he would be welcomed back if there was a next time.

Truth is not always easy to find, in fact, it is said that in war, truth is the first casualty, and it is certainly a battle in the lives of the addicts who come here. Truth is also very tough to face up to and it is the search for truth that lies at the heart of this battle for the lives of everyone who enters the Brothers’ House. The trouble is that there are lies opposing the truth that play out in the minds and bodies of the brothers every moment of every day, wanting to find ways to suppress the truth, distort it and ultimately kill it.

On the plane coming to HK I watched the film, ‘The Green Zone’. It is a story about WMD in Iraq and the quest of one soldier (played by Matt Damon) to discover the truth about them. There is a scene near the end (if you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to know the ending, look away now) when Matt Damon is pursuing the one man who knows the truth. Also chasing the Iraqi is an American Special Forces soldier. Matt Damon wants to release the ‘truth’, the other soldier is under orders to kill the ‘truth’ so that nobody finds out that there are no WMD (otherwise the reason for going to war is exposed as a lie).

The chase is on, Truth or Lies? It’s an age old battle fought out from the garden of Eden to the Brothers’ House in HK right now, and in many, many lives everywhere. The chase is on, will the truth be revealed and believed or will the lies kill the truth that everyone who comes into House 4 is seeking? The chase might go on for 10 days or several years but the one thing everyone here believes is that, ‘the truth will set them free.’ (John 8:32)

It isn’t all success here but there is a belief that if the ‘Son (Jesus) sets you free, you are free indeed.’ (John 8:36) That’s the focus of all the prayers, all the love, all the care and that’s why the Brothers in this house and all the houses on the site, are committed to pursuing the truth to keep it alive and release it into the lives of everyone who comes in. They long to see other men, just like them, escape the lies, find the Truth and experience the freedom of a future.

I won’t tell you the end of the film, but the chase is on, truth or lies? It’s quite a chase.