31,32 “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
John 8:31,32 (NIV)
Let's take a good look at freedom today. We all want plenty of it on the court or playing field, in our workplaces, in our homes, in every part of our lives. But it doesn't always come so easily.
We all struggle with how to get it. Here's why: We think freedom is the ability to be and do what we want. So we all strain to emancipate ourselves, all the time.
But taking this path actually leads to more confinement. That definition of freedom is inadequate and even destructive.
Here's the better definition, the better path to freedom. Freedom comes when:
I KNOW THE TRUTH: the truth about me, about you, about life, about death, about the world, about all I'm supposed to know; and especially about God. Truth is a Person (John 14:6). Release from captivity starts and ends when I know how things really work in life. This truth sets people free. Confidence soars when this kind of truth is present.
I FOLLOW: We tend to think that breaking away, achieving independence, marks freedom. But Jesus says that following well is what leads to it.
He says that freedom-giving truth is conditional (conditional, but not relative). He says truth comes if and when I follow. More specifically, He says it comes when I follow Him (be His disciple).
The more I follow, the more I discover truth. And the more I discover truth, the more I'm set free.
- I ABIDE: To abide is to dwell, to stick around. Applied here, “abide” means to “hold on to His words.” It means to pitch a tent around His teachings, to camp out in God's Word.
The more I do this, the better I follow. The better I follow, the better I grasp truth in life. The better I grasp truth, the more I'm set free. Abiding is that important to experiencing freedom.
Reflect:
- Are you experiencing much freedom lately?
- Are you seeing the connection of freedom to truth? Are you abiding in and holding fast to Jesus' teachings?
- What simple step toward greater freedom might you need to take today?
A prayer to consider: Emperor-Emancipator, King Jesus, it's for freedom that You set me free (Galatians 5:1). Don't let me get stuck by wandering off and setting my own definitions of truth.
Take the sometimes rebellious and indifferent streaks out of me when it comes to You. Remind me of the disciple sweetness and true freedom that comes from abiding in You, holding fast to Your teachings. My rest in You is freedom. Amen.
