Truth is singular. If something is spiritually true, then all disciplines and religions will be looking at this “one truth” from different angles, goals, assumptions, and vocabulary. If it is the truth, it is true all the time and everywhere, and sincere lovers of truth will receive it from wherever it comes.
Regarding patterns of the universe, there is a way to find truth revealed in them. Reality is trying to tell us something. Life is speaking to us, messages trying to find expression, music inviting us to listen and sing, and patterns attracting our attention and interpretation. Nevertheless, above and behind and beyond the sometimes confusing randomness of life, something is going on.
Like wood, reality has a grain. Like a river, it has a current. Like a story, it has characters and setting and conflict and resolution. Creation reveals wisdom through its patterns, which we could discover if we pay attention.
We do honestly admit that we do not always understand the seemingly random forces at play, but if we believe that the Risen Jesus is the full and trustworthy unveiling of the nature of God, then we live in a safe and love-filled universe.
Genesis and the Gospel of John dare us to believe that the universe runs by the logic of creativity, goodness, and love. The universe is God’s creative project, filled with beauty, opportunity, challenge, and meaning. It runs on the meaning or pattern we see embodied in the life and incarnation of God in Jesus.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
