Lespedeza repens
By Orrin Morris
“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The Apostle John quoted this statement when Jesus was confronted with a moral issue, a woman caught in adultery. The Hebrew Law dictated that she was to be stoned to death.
Jesus used the occasion to position Himself as the “light of the world,” that is, the exclusive and faithful source of knowledge about the will of His Heavenly Father. In essence, Jesus said the moral judgments that He made accurately reflect the way God relates to mankind, that is, in redemptive love. (John 8:32ff)
We can be confident that God deeply desires our eternal redemption. That truth was stated by Jesus many times. Furthermore, we are given assurance that God will provide guidance through the presence of his Spirit (John 16:13).
For the Christian, this is comforting, but in the secular arena it is difficult to know the truth. Who is telling the truth? How can we know that we are being told the truth? When we cannot personally experience or view the facts, we simply choose to trust the opinion of a person upon whom we have come to rely.
One year in late September, as the weeds along the road were dying, I spotted a tiny pinkish-purple bloom amid the tans and browns at ground level. I knelt in the ditch and carefully separated the dead materials from the tiny vine. I had discovered another wildflower that was not in my collection.
After taking field notes about color, size (1/4 inch) and shape of the flower (pea-like); length of the vines (6 to 24 inches); shape, markings and size of the three-part leaves (1/2 inch), I searched my library for an accurate identification.
The three-leaf structure suggested it was a clover, but my University of Georgia source did not include it. My Alabama and Carolina sources provided no help either.
Finally, in the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers I found the creeping bush clover. Rather than being in the genus trifolium, it was in the lespedeza. Is it a clover? I think so and will include it in my list of wildflowers as a clover. Several well respected authorities do not include it in their books.
This brings us back to the question of truth. We live in a very strained time in national and world affairs. We choose whom we will believe. History teaches us that this is dangerous when taken to the extreme, dividing families and friends, nations and alliances.
The truth for the moment, as I see it, is that we need a healing of friendships, political parties, religious leaders and participants in international relationships, to name a few.
Pray with me that as Jesus, the Light of the World, said “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Baptist Spirituality 