We are made for love. Most everyone agrees that love is the true purpose of human existence. Yet human misery abounds, and human flourishing seems harder and harder to find.
We have forgotten the connection between love and truth. It is impossible to abide in love if we do not also abide in the truth. “Love rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). If we are living a lie, love will not last.
Truth is objective and transcendent. We do not create it for ourselves. The ancient temptation of the human race, going all the way back our first parents, is to become like gods. In our age of relativism, so many people are defining for themselves what is love, what is truth, what is goodness, what is beauty. The damage has been substantial.
Therefore, at times, this blog will give answers to various threats to objective truth, which are ultimately threats to our freedom to love and flourish as human beings.
But there is more. The truth is also subjective and personal. Seeing the truth is one thing; living it in personal integrity is another. Like Saint Paul, we often avoid the good that we desire and do the evil that we hate. That has been my story far too often!
I have come to discover that, while the truth is most definitely NOT relative, it is very much relational. It is only in healthy relationships with God, self, and others that we find ourselves able to integrate the truth and live it out in all its fullness. Isolated and alone we flounder and fail.
Healing happens in communion. As John tells us, God is love. He is a communion of persons. We are made in his image and likeness. Our eternal destiny is to see him face to face and become like him. We will only attain that eternal salvation, not as isolated individuals, but as one body in Christ, as branches abiding on the vine together and bearing fruit together.
I look forward to reflecting on what it means to abide in love and truth – including both the objective and subjective dimensions. On the objective side, I will bring in the wisdom of the ages in the fields of theology and philosophy, my two areas of academic expertise. On the subjective and relational side, I will share various lessons learned in my personal struggle to abide in love and truth – as well as lessons learned while accompanying others as a shepherd of the flock. Personal healing and healthy relationships will be a frequent theme. It is only in healthy relationships that we can become who we are by abiding in love and truth.
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