BY TED N. C. WILSON

e are living in an age of postmodernism and relativism. Absolutes are being questioned and are even considered by many as irrelevant. Truth, for many, appears to be relative. Even though this is a definite sign of the nearness of Christ's second coming, it is not a new problem. Pilate asked the famous question recorded in John 18:38: "What is truth?" Amazingly, he asked this of Christ, who is the source of all truth, and is truth itself. As we face the last days of earth's history, let us make sure, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that we personally know the answer to that question; that we not only know what is truth but that we know the Truth; that we know Jesus Christ, our Lord. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

This week the world church will be studying various aspects of the theme "United in the Witness of Truth." Although many around us may de-emphasize the importance of truth as an absolute, we should take time to focus on the divine truth found in Scripture--truth as our calling and destiny, truth and its relation to the second coming of Christ and our commitment to sharing it. This is foundational to our proclamation of the final Advent message. God has called the Seventh-day Adventist Church to proclaim this precious truth. We have been told that "in a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the Word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import--the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention" (Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 19).

By God's grace, let us fully understand this precious message of truth entrusted to us for proclamation to the world. Let us know Christ, who is the truth. He Himself said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). What a privilege to know our Lord, to know truth, and to look forward to the soon coming of our wonderful friend and Savior, Jesus Christ, as He unites us in the witness of truth.
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Ted N. C. Wilson is a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland.