- 1 John 5:5-13
The heart of John's writings is the story of the interior life, the divine life which the Lord brings to us. He emphasizes that the Spirit, who lives within us, is the guide to truth.
Now you might be inclined to say that if you simply stay with interior (divine) life and the Spirit's guidance, you would do much better than trying to live up to man-made rules and regulations give to you be the Church.
The truth us, you need both. You need authoritative guidance from those whose roots in the wider community protect against distortions - otherwise, you can become fragmented and/or go off course.
But, as John reminds us today, you also need a vibrant interior life. Without the Spirit's living guidance, your life can become sterile - so fixed in the past and worried about new insights, that you lose sigh of the much bigger picture.
How are you doing in keeping this balance?
- Little Blue Book, Diocese of Saginaw