Truth!

Truth!

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8: 31 - 32 KJV

Context: As always, one constant feature of Jesus' earthly ministry was the crowds that followed Him everywhere. Any other man would be awed by the crowd, but not Jesus. He never passed on a chance to speak to the crowd, challenging them to make up their minds to either believe in or reject Him. Here again, the word had gone out. He had spoken about his coming death, and that all who follow Him will receive the life that His Father had promised.

And as is the case with all of men, some did believe and some did not. God will never go against the exercise of my free will. He will do all He can to convince me, but He will not force Himself on me. I read these words and it seems to me that Jesus is saying: no matter the drama that brought you to me, the only way you can remain in me is to remain true to my words. The proof of discipleship is seen in the fruits. If I am not rooted right, I cannot fruit right. 

If I do not continue in the Word that brought me to Jesus in the first place, then I am not really a follower of Jesus. I cannot bear fruit outside of the One who holds up the frame, providing necessary support and nutrients. Am I part of the vine, or am I one foolish branch thinking it can survive on its own? And you can't start well and think you have arrived well enough to continue on your own. If it is not the vine sustaining your branch, how do you expect to survive when the storms, winds and rain come? The key word here: continue - is central to receiving all that is promised. Am I self-sufficient in any way, or am I fully dependent on the One who can show me the path of life? Have I arrived, or am I still very much a work in progress, fully dependent on the Wisdom of the Master to bring me to full measure in His own time? 

You need to know the truth every time, not just most of the time. If you really desire true deliverance from the power of sin, it is only possible in and through the One who seized control from the devil through His death and life. When I open my heart to the truth of God's Word, I am seeking to know Truth, who is Jesus Himself. And that truth is a liberator, because it frees you from slavish devotion to dogma and rules at the expense of a relationship with God. It's not that rules have ceased to apply to you but you are not complying out of a sense of fear but from a heart that fully appreciates all it has been given. 

As some Jews then made a decision to believe Jesus, so does Jesus wait on us today. What do you want: true freedom as defined by God, or the false promises made by man? As always, the choice is mine, but the eternal consequences are for God to define. Actually, He has defined it; I am the one with a decision to make. What would it be: eternal freedom or eternal bondage? His time of favour is here.