But we are children of God, and those who know Glod listen to us; those who are not of God refuse to listen to us. This is how we can tell the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.
Every morning I say my prayer to Saint Michael the Archangle. I realize that the devil is real and that he lies. I know their are times in my life that I have listened to the devil and sinned. Thanks be to God! We have the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Children know when we as adults lie. No, I am not talking about Santa Claus. Children know that good things happen when they are good. They receive presents and not coal. However, their are children who are in families that are in dire financial straights some because of drug use and some for health and relationship problems and some because of no fault of their parents or caregivers.
Years ago when I was in my forties and singing in the choir in Church. We had a good number of young people who were still in High School. One of the members was a foster child by the name of Michael. He was a good kid but something unfortunate happened to him. He turned eighteen before he graduated from High School. There were other foster children in the home but because he had turned eighteen, he had to leave the loving foster home that he was living……… He was homeless.
It was not my idea, but my sister volunteered me to let Michael live with me. I worked odd and long hours with the Post Office and the idea of having a teenager as a housemate did not thrill me. Different sleep times and noise were an issue. Even though I was reluctant, it worked out for the 6 months or so he lived with me. It seemed a great deal longer, but we both survived. He grew up went to school and is fine young man today.
Non-catholics are obsessed with the end times and who is the antichrist. They make predictions but we know from the words of Jesus that no one knows when the end times will occur. If I die tomorrow then today is my endtime. Nevertheless, I am obsessed with truth, because a lie can cause me to sin and keep me from Paradise with Jesus.
We know that children are smarter than us. We know that they will figure out who is telling the truth. Whoever keeps his commandments lives in God and God lives in him. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit that he has given us. Because of the Holy Spirit we have the decernment of a child. Is the devil telling the truth….maybe a half truth…. maybe a lie?
The Holy Spirit answered that question in you as you read the question.
So today search for the truth in your lives. Sometimes the truth will make you uncomfortable, but in the end, dispite the fact it might make you uncomfortable follow the truth.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS Please pray for all those suffering from Cancer today. Pray for the truth.
Picture Credit: “Lovely children” by Lưu Huệ Linh is licensed under CC PDM 1.0
