Page 125 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

31

Just as any passage of the Bible can only truly be correctly interpreted by
viewing it within the context of the whole Bible (Corpus theory) and
especially in the light of the Book of Revelation, in which the Lamb of God
holds the keys to the seven scrolls, so too is this chapter best interpreted
and understood in the light of the final stanza.

People who genuinely believe in a loving God, who knows how fully they are
loved by God, who understand how precious and honored they are in God’s
sight (Isaiah 43:4), who are totally secure in that knowledge and experience
of God’s love for them, and who have their need to be loved, to belong and
to be valued met, are free from any compulsion to grasp for attention. Or to
try to find fulfillment from the false gods of over-attachment to possessions,
prestige, power, or pleasure.

Such people will possess an innate wisdom that will allow them to live
prudently and be attentive, loving, flexible, and open-minded. Comfortable
with simplicity, they will also be discrete in their relationships. Above all,
they will enjoy an intimate relationship with God through the solitude and
silence of contemplative prayer.

b
a Ecclesiastes 7:23-25; 1 Kings 4:29-34; Ephesians 5:15-17; Luke 21:34;
e
c
d
1 Corinthians 8:9; Luke 12:35-40; Luke 14:10-11; Psalm 1:1-3;
f 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Isaiah 40:4; Psalm 23:4; Matthew 7:7-8;
g
i
h Numbers 5:16-31; Proverbs 25:26; John 8:54; Matthew 7:6; Psalm 46:10;
Psalm 37:7-8; Luke 8:24-25; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Galatians 5:16-18;
j
James 4:13-17