Truth and Life
“Jesus says of Satan, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44, NIV) There is ever so much in this short statement. First, Christ connects “murder” to “not holding to the truth.” The act of murder is an attempt to disrupt reality itself – to destroy the existence of another. In that manner, a lie belongs to the same category of action. A lie is an attempt to reject reality as it is and to put something else in its place. A lie seeks to murder the truth.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Christ’s beloved disciple John the Theologian teaches us that earthly life makes us members of only one of two families. We become either children of God, or children of the devil. The Apostle says that only those who live according to truth and love are born of God. Truth without love is deformed into cruelty. And love without truth turns into the allowance of sin. God Himself is the source of Truth and Love. Therefore, those who follow Him become like Him. And the opposite is true—those who follow in the footsteps of the evil spirits are always liars and filled with hatred. This is because lies always lead to hatred. The father of lies is the devil, and everyone who serves him becomes a liar.” (Metropolitan Luke Kovalenko)
“How are we sick? We are sick because our souls are disordered. We do not love God. Our ancestors Adam and Eve, rebelled against God and their offspring entered into that fallenness and life of disobedience. Instead of being in love with life, goodness, truth and purity, mankind married itself to disobedience, lies, impurity and finally to death. What started in the soul, spread to the rest of us as a sickness or a cancer. We are divided in our minds, our bodies and our will. We are fragmented.” (Fr. James Guirguis)
“All Truth is Christian Truth. Patristic writers believed that God distributed His Word, the Truth, throughout the created world and in all peoples of the world, not just in the Jews. When other religions express an element of the Truth, it is because God planted that truth in them. When pagan philosophers spoke something true, it is because of the Word which God planted in every culture and among all the peoples of the world. The Gentiles were not bereft of God’s wisdom and Truth, for Truth could be found in all people. God did this so that all the people of the world might recognize God when He appeared on earth. Truth would “rise when mankind was elevated to its best nature.” The resurrection! Truth is everywhere present in the world if our hearts and minds are open to it, and if we haven’t blinded ourselves to it by our love for the fallen world. Truth needs the soil of our hearts in order to thrive. If we mix in our hearts lies, deceit, or disinformation, we pollute the garden of our hearts with lethal toxins which will cause Truth to whither or die. Truth in this sense requires us to co-operate with It: a synergy between God and humans is needed for Truth to have Its proper place in creation.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“This day and age we are told many lies, some blatant, others more subtle. Some people claim that as citizens of a nation we are meant to do the will of the people. Others advise us that we are self-directed individuals, free to plot whatever destiny we choose. Advertisers try to convince us that true life flows out of a cornucopia of goods and services only they can provide. In contrast to these claims, Saint Paul says, “We are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). What does it mean if we agree with this holy man and say, “Yes, we are the Lord’s”? To be the Lord’s, on the apostle’s terms, means to accept that we are persons created from nothing by the will of God. It is to choose to live with Him by whom we were fashioned and to be counted among those who serve Him.” (Dynamis 8/21/2021)
Commentaires