Skip to main content

Freedom is never partial

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. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:31-36)

Remain faithful to his teachings - then you will know the truth that truly sets you free. We might say freedom is just a bit conditional - it requires faithfulness to the teachings of Christ. Sometimes we trust in all kinds of 'other things' to help us 'live free', but religious pursuit without right relationship with God is just a pursuit without a proper aim. What things are you a slave to today? What beliefs hold you back from really pursuing God as you should? When we begin to explore the answers to those two things, we might just begin to see how 'bound' we really are - like slaves.

Truth has a way of setting us free, but we must desire freedom. For a very long time, I struggled with very negative thoughts about myself. I didn't see myself as 'worth much', so I never really thought others could see me any differently. Somewhere in my early twenties, God showed me the truth - that I was lovely in his eyes, and that my 'value' or 'worth' was not anything close to what I had set myself up to believe. In fact, it was much greater than I had told myself repeatedly all those years. The moment I began to trust God to reveal my 'true value', the journey toward really being free happened. 

Some of us latch onto things others have declared to us to be 'truth', but we never 'test the truth' to see if it really matches what God says about the matter. We just go on believing a lie because we don't put forth the effort to discover the truth. Jesus told his followers they had to 'remain faithful' to his teachings. That meant they had to apply themselves to not only hearing them but getting them into their hearts and minds so they could affect the way they lived. Truth should affect choices - it also affects perceptions. What we perceive about ourselves, and others is oftentimes incorrect. We need that 'perception' to be set right.

When we begin to embrace what God says about us, we begin a journey from slavery into freedom. It is not a freedom to do as we please, but to begin to do what pleases him. In so doing, we find ourselves not 'doing' because we are told to do something, but 'doing' because we genuinely know that in 'doing' we find absolute freedom and purpose. The slave 'does' because he is told to, but the free man 'does' because he wants to. Begin to get God's word into your mind and see if it doesn't begin to affect your heart. Once it does, your actions will be transformed. We are set free to live free - not partially, but totally. Just sayin!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment if this message has spoken to your heart.

Popular posts from this blog

Sentimental gush

9-11  So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 MSG) Sentimental gush - that is what I kind of feel when I watch some of those sappy "and they lived happily after" love stories. Yes, I believe people can "be in love" and that "love will find a way" and all those other cliches about love. Don't think I am down on a solidly committed and growing relationship - it is just that our world often portrays love in ways that are totally gushy and then doesn't show the very 'hard' side of that loving being vital and vibrant...
1 comment
Read more

At the right time

Greetings from Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help God’s chosen people have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. This faith and knowledge make us sure that we have eternal life. God promised that life to us before time began—and God does not lie. At the right time, God let the world know about that life. He did this through the telling of the Good News message, and he trusted me with that work. I told people that message because God our Savior commanded me to. (Titus 1:1-3) Sent to help God's chosen to have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. Maybe that mission is one we can carry on each day as we go about our business of 'living life together'. We may not have been called to form the New Testament churches like Paul was, but we have been called to help others grow in their faith and to come into a deeper understanding of God's truths. Why? God wants a people w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hmmm...seeing things differently now?

Create in me a clean heart, O God; restore within me a sense of being brand new. (Psalm 51:10) Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."  He was so true in this perception!  The problems we create will never be overcome or changed until we change the way we have been thinking about them!  To change our thought process we often need to change what we are focusing on so often or intensely. If we always see the problem, we will never see the solution standing just beyond it! If all we see is the river in front of us, raging out of control and making it hard to pass over to the other side, we will likely not see the bridge being lowered from the other side! Restoration is a process of not only being "clean" of the sin in our lives, but of being able to look beyond the sin.  We can ask for forgiveness when we have done something we are not happy we have done, but if all we keep thinking about is that thing we asked...
Post a Comment
Read more