T.R.U.E. / F.A.L.S.E.
Our title / theme for this article ‘seems’ fairly ordinary. However, we’re going to allow these letters / words ‘speak’ to us & – having due regard to my peculiar way of setting out ideas – try to ‘see’ what they ‘say’. In a sense, we’re starting with the ancient art of ‘smoke signals’ (the precursor of today’s ‘cloud computing’?) &, hopefully, progressing towards ‘perfect communication’.
What is ‘TRUE’ (i.e. ‘true God’)? / What is ‘FALSE’ (i.e. ‘false Gods’)?
‘Trinitarian Reality United Everywhere’ / ‘Freedom And Love Separated Everywhere’’.
The ‘TRUTH’ of divine ‘PRO’-VISION / The ‘FALSITY’ of human ‘PRO’-VISION.
(Note: ‘PRO’-VISION follows-on from previous series of articles).
We attribute to God various titles . . . . . He is supreme & manifests in Trinitarian mode (see ‘Young at Heart’ article). God is the “living God” who ‘gives life’ (Joshua 3:10). He is our great & glorious ‘GIVER’ – ‘united everywhere’ – (see ‘God’s “3G’s”: Gift, Grace, Glory) / “In Him we live & move & have our being” (Acts 17:28).
In contrast, we (humans) – manifesting our ‘fallen’ nature – tend to espouse ‘other Gods’ in Singularity mode (i.e. single-serving) & Duality mode (i.e. dual-serving). These ‘false Gods’ become the ‘driving forces’ of our ‘self-centredness’, as ‘TAKERS’ – ‘separated everywhere’. As a result, Freedom & Love is negated.
So, is there Good News out there? And the answer is ‘yes’. The Bible tells us: God ‘set-down’ His Commandments, as follows: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3) / “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul & with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus the Christ called this “the first & great commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
Now, you may, well, ask: what relevance has this event – of the ‘Israelites escape from Egypt’ – for me? Here’s an interpretation: Its meaning – at a deeper level – can be understood as a ‘visible sign of the invisible’ (i.e. God in action): God opens our eyes to new realities: at each moment of our lives we have a vital choice to make: between ‘God’s will’ & our ‘own will’ / between what is ‘TRUE’ & what is ‘FALSE’.
The focus, then, is on life’s ultimate question: whose WILL is being served: divine will? or human will? We know the ‘path in life’ Jesus the Christ took: “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49): “I came to serve & not to be served” (Mark 10:45 & Matthew 20:28). In summary: ‘TRUE’ God (our Trinitarian God) is everything ( i.e. ‘real’) / ‘FALSE’ Gods (our Singularity or Duality Gods) are nothing (i.e. ‘imitation’). In our discernment, we may say ‘God is Love’, but we cannot say ‘Love is God’ or ‘Freedom is God’ (since the ‘latter two’ constitute idolatry).
The human dilemma – at its most basic experience – is: we live our lives on the borderline of ‘what God we serve?’. All forms of idolatry reject the unique Lordship of God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) & are incompatible – in terms of ‘Attitude, Behaviour, Connectivity’ (‘ABC’) – with a ‘Reciprocal / Mutual / Complementary’ Trinitarian God.
Hence, ‘we can never forget’ / ‘we must always remember’ God’s simple, but profound, declaration: “Behold I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Our God is a ‘self-giving’ God, who sent His Son – as He sent Moses to the Israelites – to lead us out of bondage (i.e. save us from ourselves) & give us new life.
How do we become new? We follow the Way (‘VIA’) of Jesus the Christ: we ‘die’ to the old (‘FALSE’) ‘self-serving’ life & we ‘rise’ to the new (‘TRUE’) ‘self-giving’ life.