True Freedom

 

Freedom means different things to different people. We listen to stories of refugees and realize oppression and bondage takes many forms, most of which we have never experienced.

Yesterday, one friend shared that the country she was born in forbid any criticism of government leaders. Those who did and were reported would likely not be seen again. When she moved to Great Britain and heard people speak badly about the Queen, she intensely worried for their safety.

Sometimes slavery is being forced to serve other people. Sometimes it is slavery to bad habits or a way of life. Always it is slavery to that power that holds people from being all that they could be — slavery to sin. When Jesus came, He said:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They (religious leaders) answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31–36)

I’m thinking of what can enslave me in terms of my current life in my part of the world. One is fear, fear of future events, and current threats in political decisions. We just had an election in which the winner has a vague history in ruling a country and the opposition leader lost in his riding and must resign. Talk and promises can sound good, but fear of what happens next could put many in bondage to their fears.

Another threat is aging. A former friend died this month at 103. I can hear her laugh. Will I live that long? Be healthy? I realize that God could call me home anytime. I could be in bondage to concerns about who will be the first in our household to die and how will the remaining person manage? If it is me, will I need to move again? Many questions, but the future is never known or made certain.

I could also be a slave to my I-wants. A big one is wanting to see ALL my family knowing and walking with Jesus. Some do. Some are far from it. Praying daily for them, yet this burden could ruin my freedom to think or do much else.

I could also be a slave to ignorance. We listen to people rant about something they read on social media but didn’t check it out — a total pack of lies. I hear others go on about their problems yet never seem to look for solutions. They enjoy being in the dark? They like to occupy their minds with stuff that is not true? I don’t understand this, but realize I could also be a slave to lies.

Yet Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The key? “If you abide in my Word… and you will know the truth…” Knowing and believing what God says and sticking to it (abiding) is the key to freedom, freedom from fear, life’s concerns, selfish ideas and habits, and even ignorance. It means reading it, not just as an exercise, but in search for truth that produces trust and takes away fear. Truth that makes me know the folly of worry, the futility of my wants in comparison to the wonderful will of God, and truth that breaks the power of ignorance.

PRAY: Oh Lord Jesus, I am so glad that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life that is offered to me as a gift because of Your amazing grace and mercy. I can be confident, not fearful or worried as I read it, joyful and assured of Your wisdom and care. This isn’t just about me either, but about the state of the world near and far. You are God and those who try to be will eventually discover that they are not. Amen.

A life given for our life...

In Canada, today is Remembrance Day. In the USA, it is called Veteran’s Day. Either way, this day we are to honor those who gave their lives that we might live in freedom from oppressive entities that tried to rule over us.

This day bears a vivid resemblance to what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us when He went to war against sin and Satan, dying on the cross that we might be free from sin that otherwise rules our lives. The Bible lists some of those extreme sins, such as murder, hatred, and so on, but it also spells out the root of all of them:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Doing my own thing is a sin that is expressed in so many ways, some extreme and some easily hidden, yet nevertheless my way rather than the way of the Lord.

As I wear a poppy and remember the men and women who gave their lives for our physical freedom, I also think about Jesus who gave His life for my spiritual freedom so I could be no longer a slave to sin but a child of God, able to truly have a choice in what I do. While an unforgiven sinner, my way was the only way, my only choice, but now, in Christ, I can choose to obey Him and enjoy freedom. It is just as He said to those who claimed to believe in Him:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31–36)

This isn’t about freedom to do as I please. It is the freedom from having no another choice than going my own way — which is sin!

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:1–7)

The word ‘death’ has several meanings, yet most of them are about separation… separation of the spirit from the body as in physical death, or separation of the soul from God as in spiritual death, or separation from sin to serve Christ as in being dead to sin and alive to God in the new life that Jesus gives. This is a death most welcome because it set me free from the only choice of running my own life, to the two choices: walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit. The NT describes this well. See Romans 6:8-18 and also:

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:1; 16–18)

PRAY: Jesus, the wonder of being able to walk in the Spirit certainly fills life with continual God-surprises. Not only do unexpected blessings happen to me, but I say and do things that are not premeditated and surprise me and bring blessings and smiles to others. Your freedom is utterly amazing and most certainly the way to live. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) And the red poppy reminds me also of Your great sacrifice.

Love that speaks . . .

 

Some say truth hurts. Some say there is no truth, only opinions. Some say love is a feeling and if the feeling is not there, love is gone. The Bible says, “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14–15)

Jesus also says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free . . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” meaning free from bondage to sin and its result of spiritual death. (John 8:31–36) Obviously human interpretations fall short of God’s definitions of both truth and love.

Jesus describes truth as the key to freedom from the tyranny of always needing to have my own way. He describes love as giving up selfish-desires to serve Him and others. That means that the truth only hurts those who insist on running their own life apart from God and truth is opinion only to those who reject God as having all wisdom and authority. This also means that love is a mere whim and only expressed when ‘I feel like it’ which, for a self-centered person, is more miss than hit.

This puts speaking the truth in love into a very narrow definition. Truth is the Word of God, what He says is true. Love is saying it without concern for myself, thinking only for the spiritual well-being of others. Love isn’t concerned about opinions, rejections, or being popular, only about the eternal destiny of those who do not know Jesus, and about the joy and freedom they can have if truth and love rule their lives.

So why is speaking the truth in love such a challenge? I know that my spiritual enemy does not want it to happen. He will do whatever he can to bring doubt, fear, confusion, and all sorts of sin my way so I’m mixed up, cowardly, uncertain, and more concerned about me than about others. He works on my conscience with accusations, temptations, and distractions. He tells me if I am bold with the truth, others will reject me or think I am ‘touched in the head’ or worse. He tells me if I love like Jesus loves, people will use me, walk all over me, rip me off and laugh at me behind my back.

Speaking the truth in love is serious business. Jesus did it — and died because of it. The early disciples, all but one, were martyrs because they did it. Today, hundreds of Christians will die for their faith, and if not death, be tortured or put in prison, or at best, ridiculed for speaking the truth in love. In North America, we have laws that protect severe persecution yet in subtle ways our freedom to speak truth is being limited and the love of God is interpreted to mean that He wants everyone to be comfortable.

PRAY: Jesus, in these confusing times, enable clarity of thought, words of truth, and a heart full of Your love for Your people. This is not only serious but difficult. In myself, I cannot do it but I can do all things through You, as Paul prayed, and “May my love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:9). Thank You for the joy that comes with both truth and love in my life.

READ: Revelation 2:1–7 noting the strengths in this church and the one thing it lacked. What is God’s answer to what was missing?

 

Speaking truth in love

 

 

READ Proverbs 25-28

While childhood experiences are not excuses for adult behavior, they can be explanations. I missed most of elementary public school up to grade seven. Children of that age learn social skills from experiences like saying the wrong thing and being laughed at or doing the right thing and making a new friend. Missing all that has made me wonder how I can be so happy in solitude, or if I’m autistic in not knowing how to talk to others, and so on.

However, this ‘blank slate’ sensation has a plus side — when I became a Christian I also became more open to learning social skills from God rather than avoiding people or learning the hard way of trial and error. Even though Proverbs and the rest of Scripture teach that God’s way is not like human ways, which is another plus, even if it leads to some challenges.

A few verses in today’s reading go against the common way of doing things. For instance, if someone is sad, the usual method to cheer them is by saying positive things, but this bit of wisdom says, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.” (Proverbs 25:20)

A person told me that his ill spouse becomes easily depressed. He is very positive about everything with a view to a better future and tries to cheer her with those thoughts. But she isn’t helped by that, even gets angry at him and tells him to stop. I’ve learned from our conversations that depressed people can be frustrated by “be happy” because they are craving understanding and sympathy, not a solution. Telling them to be happy comes across as ‘your sadness bothers me so stop it’ and thus sounds selfish on their part.

My study in Job shows another side to this also. Job needed his friends to put their arms around him and be with him in his suffering, not try to explain it or ‘fix’ it with reasonings about its cause and what Job should be doing and thinking. Jesus did not insist that we sinners should smarten up. Instead, He took our place and bore our sorrows.

I’m no expert at compassion and sympathy. It does not come naturally to listen rather than my tendencies to offer solutions, but this verse does help me to listen and commiserate rather than trying to cheer up someone who is suffering.

Another verse that goes against popular thinking says, “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Proverbs 26:28) Saying what is not true and flattery are both used to get on the good side of another person or sometimes to ‘help’ them when they are discouraged or feeling like a failure. But God says that words that build up need to be true words — and it may take time and thoughtfulness to find out the root issues and deal with them in a wise way.

Saying things like, “Oh, never mind how your boss treats you, you are a good worker” to someone who has been slacking off is not helpful. Truth may hurt, but kindness is never a lie or flattery. Two other verses show how God’s way is different and opposite to what many do in cases like this:

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. (Proverbs 27:5–6)

Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue. (Proverbs 28:23)

Yes, truth can feel like someone is wounding me, but if my sadness or struggles are caused by an attitude or behavior in my own life, telling me I’m okay is a lie and not helpful at all.

Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31–36)

As a child of God, I’d rather hear truth that hurts and be set free than be governed by bad habits or wrong doing. And I ought to have that same desire for others to the point that my words reflect what God says rather than be conformed to the way the world operates. The challenge is always to speak those words in love that edifies — not with any attitude that puts anyone into a deeper pit.