You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
John 8:42 Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me.
John 8:43 Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.
John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
John 8:45 But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me.
John 8:46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
The verse centers on "father", "devil", "want", "desires", "murderer", "beginning", and "doesn". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "father" and "devil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 43's "Why don t you understand my speech..." into verse 45's "But because I tell the truth you...", so "father" and "devil" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "father" and "devil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.