John 8:31-34
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
Our dog, Wellington the Methodist,
is a prisoner each night. He has an
issue with his bladder, so his little “kennel condo” is his nighttime
castle. Each day well-before sunrise I open
the little door to his kingdom and tell him, you’re FREE!
He lifts his head slightly, sniffs, and goes back to snoreing like a
chain saw. It’s the doggie version of OK…free…whatever;
keep it down, please…dog trying t’ sleep here.
Those who were listening to Jesus
didn’t understand the kennel they were in, either. They didn’t get it, that there was any need
for being released. They had their
heritage of being descendants of Abraham…that made everything OK with the Creator. So, Jesus, free….from WHAT?
I’m not sure the larger part of
humanity understands this any better than those who were following Jesus around. In just about every context I hear those
words, the truth shall set you free, they just sound like another
platitude, a cliché flung-out to fill space by the self-proclaimed wise, so
that others will know they’re in the presence of wisdom. It’s used as a foil in a verbal fencing match
to proclaim, hey, I know the real story here, and you don’t,
so see my point of view and, when you know the real truth, you’ll be better
off.
So, at the risk of proving my own ignorance,
let me just offer that Jesus wasn’t talking about
truth, as in, was it the butler or Colonel Mustard who killed Professor Plum…or
freedom, as in having the right to move from point A to point B unhindered…or
freedom to be a plumber, doctor, or any other vocation. Rather, knowing the truth is becoming a genuine disciple of
He who IS the truth.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6
The freedom of which Jesus spoke is
not a matter of having your kennel door opened, merely for the purpose of personal
choice to wander about and chase squirrels or whatever else turns you on…it’s a
matter of having your mind opened to what’s really important in the universe –
responding well to a loving Creator who gave you life in the body, and wants to
energize your soul and spirit.
For You Today
So, how is life going…I mean, with
all that freedom you enjoy? Is it kind of dependent on the CDC
guidelines, or whatever the day brings?
Or do you find yourself sleeping through life like Wellington the
Methodist, just waiting for whatever handout of “freedom” those in charge decide
to hand down?
One day, all the personal choices
you’ve been granted constitutionally, or those, by virtue of whatever slots in
life you’ve been able to carve out for yourself, have come to an end, the only
question that will matter is,
did you trust He Who IS
the Truth to set you free?
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