Greetings in the name of the one who is our friend, Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! I trust that you had a good weekend and Monday…and that you received the gifts of God that He released for your enjoyment. What an interesting morning in the Kingdom…dark clouds, strong breezes, hints of rain, and glimpses of open sky with sunlight. Regardless of all that, my hope is that you are dwelling in the light of God’s glory! In fact, I am going to pray for you today, asking God to reveal a measure of His glory to you–personally!
This morning I have been looking at a verse that says: Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 NIV. Now, I have read that verse many times before but for whatever reason it seemed to echo through my spirit and demand attention. I am thinking that when Jesus says, “the truth”, he is referencing himself because in John 14:6 he states that he is “the truth”. The word “free” is from the Hebrew word ‘cherut’ and it carries this meaning: the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. If I put this all together, it might read like this: Then you will know the truth (Jesus), and the truth (Jesus) will set you free ( give you the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints). In a society and under a religious system that imposed many restraints on how one acted, spoke, and thought – this was a powerful statement.
Jesus was introducing the idea of transformation, so that the external obligations would become internal desires. He was directing their attention away from impersonal rules and obligations to a personal relationship with “the truth” that would stimulate a desire to please and be acceptable to a person – Jesus! As I began to think my way through that the words of the apostle Paul came to mind, when he said: “…work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” Philippians 2:12b NLT. So I understand that when I accept Jesus – the truth, and receive salvation, I no longer have to act-speak-think in a certain way but I have been given the choice to want to act-speak-think in a certain way.
I am thinking that somewhere along the line people have high-jacked the idea of freedom because they do not have ‘deep reverence and fear’ of a God who is Creator-Sustainer-Governor of all things. I know that many times I have freely chosen to ignore God and he graciously let me experience the consequences of my choice, and when I understood that my choice did not bring the joy of freedom that I thought it would – He, again graciously, accepted my apology and confession of sin and restored me to a relationship with ‘the truth’ that sets me free.
Be blessed!.