Lenten Reader | Day 22

March 9th, 2024

Free Indeed

To the Jews who had believed him, 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.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

John 8:31-38

All of us cherish freedom. Freedom can mean different things to many people. It can be physical, personal, emotional, and even moral. When I was younger, I could not wait to be on my own and be “free” to make my own choices. I soon learned that this new freedom came with challenges and opportunities.

Jesus gives us free will to do as we please. To make decisions on our own. However, Jesus gives us a guide to follow to help us with decisions, and we need to depend on His word as a guide. If we follow His directions in the Bible, we then become disciples of Jesus. In being His disciple, we can be free. God promises good news to all who desire to be His disciples. Only He can bring true freedom.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34).

Seeking freedom without Christ only gives us greater bondage to sin and death. One of the greatest blessings that God gave us in Christ is freedom. Jesus came to set us free. Free from sin and being held captive in worldly ways. If we are slaves to sin, we do not need to remain there. By removing sin from our lives, we can break the bondage and live the way God intends for us.

The kind of freedom that Jesus speaks of in this passage is far deeper than we can imagine. He speaks of being free from sin and death. There is nothing like the freedom we can have in Jesus. No amount of money can buy it, nothing can match it. Freedom can never be found unless you abide by God's work and are Jesus' disciple.

During this season, remember sin puts us in bondage and true freedom is only through God.

Prayer: Father, help me to give up my sins and to embrace all the freedoms you are offering to me.

Carol Evans