Truth or Lies

Truth or Lies

His dark eyes squinted in the hot, tropical sun. He was steely, poised and purposeful. It was December, 1944  and Hiroo Onoda had landed on Lubang Island, in the Philippines. Onoda was a loyal Intelligence officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, trained specifically in methods of gathering information from behind the enemy lines and to conduct guerrilla warfare. He quickly hid himself secretly in the thick, mountain jungle; linking up with other small groups of Japanese soldiers to win the war. Two months later, the Allied forces overran the island, conquering as they went and ending the lives of many Japanese soldiers  who valiantly fought on. Onoda moved deeper into the jungle, survival taking over. Fending for themselves, his small cell of three other soldiers, Akatsu, Shimada and Kozuka, strictly rationed their ammunition supplies and rice. Raiding local farms found on the ragged edges of the jungle, they supplemented their diet with coconuts and bananas. 

In October 1945, another cell discovered a leaflet in a local Filipino village, while out hunting for food. The leaflet read, “The war ended August 15th.  Come down from the mountains!”. Onoda and his fellow soldiers discussed the leaflet extensively and came to the conclusion it was Allied propaganda. They refused to believe it and resolutely continued to shoot at, raid and glean information on the islanders. They were still at war. Several months later, other leaflets were found with orders to surrender, printed on them from General Yamashita. They examined them closely for authenticity but decided they were once more a ploy of the enemy, after all, Japan could not have lost the war. More lies they concluded. Deeply loyal to his orders and highly suspicious of any brochure, Onoda rallied the guerrilla soldiers to continue on. More leaflets and newspapers came fluttering into the mountain jungle as planes flew overhead, seeking to reach the intelligence officers holed up in seclusion. Delegates from Japan using megaphones echoed the call to surrender through the lush, tangled undergrowth and from village to village. Onoda’s sharp mind and careful training enabled him to outwit all the deceptions that came his way. 

Ensconced deep in the heavy growth on the Island of Lubang, Onoda and his men continued to evade captivity and surrender. Five years later Akatsu slipped quietly away from Onoda and the others, deciding to give himself up. Now Onoda was more cautious, going deeper into hiding and taking fewer risks. Ten years on, Shimada was killed on a beach in a small skirmish with local villagers. Only Onoda and Kozuka remained to battle the enemy, stealthily and by themselves. Twenty seven years in total had now passed when a filipino  patrol shot and killed Kozuka. Onoda continued his mission in solitude for another two years as search parties, dispatched from Japan sought unsuccessfully to locate him. His evasive tactics and keenly sharpened senses kept him concealed from all.

The Cave where Onoda lived for 29 years

In 1974, Suzuki, a young, adventurous Japanese college student set out on a journey to discover the whereabouts of Onoda. With amazement, he happened upon the hideout and tried to unsuccessfully persuade Onoda to return with him. Again Onoda refused to believe. How could he surrender when his commanding officer had not issued such orders? It was lies, all lies. In 1975 Major Taniguchi was brought to Lubang to inform him that Japan had lost the war and to hand over his weapons and surrender to the Filipinos.  He wasted twenty nine years of his life believing that truth were lies and lies were truth. He raged with a seething storm inside of him. Although treated like a hero, he felt like a fool. He had unnecessarily lived a life of adversity and hardship. 

Am I like Onoda? Do I believe truth as lies and lies as truth? Do I live my life based on not believing the truth?  Stop and listen? Who do I say I am? Who do you say you are? What is my value, my worth, my purpose? Do I believe I am insignificant, of little value? Do I feel I am unloveable? God tells us we are of extreme value to Him, worth the blood and life of His son and that He created each one of us with a purpose that He planned before the foundation of the world. God loves each one of us with a love not based on our worthiness, or our ability to deserve it but simply because He is love and His love is poured out onto each one of us. Will I choose to believe God, who tells me the truth? Will I choose to live my life based on that truth? Or will I stay with the lies?

Eph 1:4,5 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will

Jer 31:3 The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.