Opening Prayer: Set me free, Lord Jesus, from all of my misguided
ways of being and seeing. Break the
chains that bind me, and destroy my patterns of sin and darkness and
death. Set me free, Lord Jesus, for when
you do, I will be free indeed. Amen.
Scripture: John 8:34-36
Journal: What things do you feel like a slave to these
days? What chains are binding you? What do you typically do about those? Do you really want to be free? Because if you do, Christ promises that we
will, indeed, free you. How will you
move toward freedom in Christ today?
Reflection:
I have been spending a good bit of time the past several
weeks thinking about freedom and what it really means and how it really
happens. Jesus was very clear in telling us that if we want to be truly
free, it will only come through him. In fact, a little later in
John's gospel, Jesus tells us that he is the truth; as well as the way
and the life. So he is not only the truth, but he is the way
to truth as well. Therefore, the only way to truth, and thus the
only way to freedom, is through relationship with him. And, as we
talked about yesterday, if we are not free it is because we are believing
something that is not true.
My guess is that we even need to consider our definition of the word freedom to begin with. Maybe our very definition of freedom is not true. How would you define it? If you look up the word free in dictionary it is defined as personal liberty. But I'm not at all sure that this is a true definition. At least it wouldn't seem to be true, given the definition Jesus offers. One of the biggest lies that we tend to believe is that freedom means getting to do whatever we want to. And if we are not able to do whatever we want, then we must not be free. But in reality, freedom does not have to do with being able to do whatever we want, it has to do with being who we were created and intended to be. When we are being the person that God made us to be, then, and only then, is there any possibility that we can actually be free.
My guess is that we even need to consider our definition of the word freedom to begin with. Maybe our very definition of freedom is not true. How would you define it? If you look up the word free in dictionary it is defined as personal liberty. But I'm not at all sure that this is a true definition. At least it wouldn't seem to be true, given the definition Jesus offers. One of the biggest lies that we tend to believe is that freedom means getting to do whatever we want to. And if we are not able to do whatever we want, then we must not be free. But in reality, freedom does not have to do with being able to do whatever we want, it has to do with being who we were created and intended to be. When we are being the person that God made us to be, then, and only then, is there any possibility that we can actually be free.
Prayer
Closing Prayer: Father of all humanity, you call your children
to walk in the light of Christ. Free us from darkness and keep us forever
in the radiance of your truth, until we come at last to live with you on
high. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reins
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. (The
Little Book of Hours)
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