True Freedom

Even before I became a Christian, the most important character traits in my mind were truth and truthfulness. Despite that, the first man I married was a chronic liar—so good at it that he believed his own lies (or maybe believing them was what made him so good at it!). Now, after a lot more experience with life and people in general, I believe what the Bible says, “Let God be found true, but every man a liar.”

In contrast, Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . . .” He personifies truth, is true, never lies, not even a little white one that tells me I look good in some navy jacket just to keep me being His friend. He is truth and cannot tell a lie.

Jesus says something else about truth: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
Those who heard Him immediately defended themselves. They thought He was talking about slavery and insisted that they were never in bondage to anyone. But Jesus was not talking about being made to serve anyone. He replied, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin . . . therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

His promise is ultimately about knowing truth that gives us ultimate freedom. Those who know Jesus are set free from sin—from its penalty, its power and eventually its presence.

Yet what He says about truth and freedom has all sorts of implications. The human race has all sorts of bondage, not just the physical kind presumed by the Jews.

For instance, if I believed that my parents did not love me (which is a lie), I could be in the bondage of trying to prove myself and win their love, even long after their deaths. This lie is often at the root of a driven, workaholic lifestyle. If I believed that I was obese, I could be in the bondage of an eating disorder, never satisfying the elusive and deceitful desire to be thin. If I believed that God was not sovereign, I would be in the bondage trying to control everything, and/or worrying all the time about it.

The list could go on for pages. Every anxiety, every bad habit, every sinful thought, word or action is based on a lie. The only cure is truth, truth that exposes and counters the lies, gets at the root of the problems, gouges them out. Truth may hurt (like a scalpel), but truth is good medicine.

Today our family gathers for our monthly “Family Feast” day. It’s partly a birthday party for our oldest son who turned 44 last month, but also a party for Jesus, and in my mind, a celebration of truth. He died for my sin and I am set free from it. Yippee!

I’m making Mexican food, and when asked why not traditional Easter stuff, I said, “It’s Easter in Mexico too.” So as we eat enchiladas and chili peppers, we are celebrating our son who knows the Truth, and the risen Christ who is truth’s author and the One who offers each one of us the wonderful gift of freedom.