In order . . . to be in a condition to change the world in the name of Jesus, you yourselves must actually be living according to your own identity – according to God’s plan for your lives. Once again it is the world of Jesus that directs your lives and tells you what that plan is. You remember how much Jesus insisted on the commandment of love, how much he insisted on living according to certain norms called the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the clean of heart… Blessed are the peacemakers”. All of this is part of the plan.
When Saint Paul says, “Let no one deceive you”, he is in effect saying: Do not believe anyone who contradicts Jesus or his message which is transmitted to you by the Church, Jesus speaks to you young people and tells you the value of meekness, mercy and humility. Other voices in the world will immediately shout out: “weakness!”. In the Gospel Jesus emphasizes the value of honesty, uprightness, justice and fairness. But when you practice these virtues, you are liable to be accused of being “naive”. Jesus and his Church hold up to you God’s plan for human love, telling you that sex is a great gift of God that is reserved for marriage. At this point the voices of the world will try to deceive you, with powerful slogans, claiming that you are “unrealistic”, “out of it”, “backward”, even “reactionary”. But the message of Jesus is clear: purity means true love and it is the total opposite of selfishness and escape.
Jesus’ message applies to all the areas of life. He reveals to us the truth of our lives and all aspects of this truth. Jesus tells us that the purpose of our freedom is to say “yes” to God’s plan for our lives. What makes our “yes” so important is that we say it freely; we are able to say “no”. Jesus teaches us that we are accountable to God, that we must follow our consciences, but that our consciences must be formed according to God’s plan for our lives In all our relationships to other people and to the world, Jesus teaches us what we must do, how we must live in order not to be deceived, in order to walk in truth. And today, dear young people, I proclaim to you again Jesus Christ: the way, and the truth and the life – your way, your truth and your life.
What is in accord with the truth of Jesus is fulfilment, joy and peace, even if it means effort and discipline. What is not in accord with his truth means disorder, and when done deliberately it means sin. Deliberate or not, it eventually means unhappiness and frustration.
Pope John Paul II
Address to the Young People of New Orleans
September 12, 1987
“What is not in accord with his truth means disorder, and when done deliberately it means sin. ” What a simple, yet powerful statement. May we today live in the Truth.