Are we really free?

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

"So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Gal 4:7

Sometimes, every once in a while, it is possible to at least identify with Jesus' critics. If we reflect honestly at the extraordinary things he said, sometimes our heads spin and we start to think (or even say) "Yeah, but". For me John 8 is one of those times. I hear what Jesus is saying in that chapter. I treasure it. I own it, But...

How can Jesus say that we need freedom.  Are we not already free?  When I look at my life, I'm free to do whatever I want. Sure, I have commitments, but I entered into those freely. So who are you, Jesus, to say you need to set me free?

This is perhaps where following Christ is the most radical thing we can do. Everything else in our world teaches and promotes a freedom that we create or a religion of freedom that we manage. Not Jesus. He gives freedom. He wins freedom. He maintains and sustains freedom. Any freedom given by religion, is a freedom of our construction. The freedom the Christ provides is a freedom of his construction.

What makes this interesting is that Jesus doesn't disparage our quest for freedom. Just the opposite; I embraces it. I think this is because we all were created to be free (Ge 1-2). But one of the 100 million things that were broken in the fall was our conception of what freedom is. We all want freedom, but we want a freedom that is actually rebellion against God when in reality freedom is communion and worship of God.

So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  And, if you are free, you are no longer a slave, but a son (or daughter) and heir with Christ.

To God Alone be the Glory