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Belong

 

 

A small, yet enormous truth that I really needed to hear from God this week:

 

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. - John 8:31-37

 

Some of you may have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. I have just finished The Hobbit, and I am on chapter three of the Lord of the Rings... Better late than never! And it strikes me here, that what these people Jesus is talking to are feeling, is like what Bilbo felt with the ring. "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?" These people wouldn't recognize that they were not free. They just as much couldn't let go of their precious pride, or false sense of freedom. Jesus tells them that they are bound to their sin when they commit it, it takes their freedom away while promising freedom.

 

The turn that struck me is where Jesus mentions the son. The slave doesn't remain, but a son does. Jesus is offering the freedom of Sonship, not the freedom of slavery. This He refers to as 'truly my disciples.' The truth is: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples." The Son has eternal true freedom, and if you are His disciples, you belong in His word, and His word belongs in you. However if you are slaves to sin, His word has no belonging in you.

 

It sounds like He is being mean and accusing them of being rotten scum-bag sinners (which He kinda is... but that's not the point because that should be a given). It is instead, a comfort to hear because Jesus made a huge promise. Since we belong in His word, if we are continuously there, we are filled with the Truth that leads us to freedom. Jesus is offering, not condemning.

 

Now if you felt that this was just Jesus and His gospel repeated for the umpteenth time. I encourage you, go read that passage again. Notice that those men had already received the good news through Abraham. They should have been cheering when Jesus spoke. It was their complacency in thinking that they didn't continually need to hear the good news that blinded them to what God has for mankind; all the time! The message of the gospel is for the power of those who believe, like that is the main purpose. It isn't just for getting people saved! It is to empower and equip us believers. We have the story to share, we have the example to follow, we have the love given to us to give away again, and many more!

 

In my discipleship class at school, we are going through the books, Gospel Fluency, and Saturate. The author describes how using the Gospel in your life, makes you an actual witness of what Christ does in you. So, I hope that you can apply this good news to whatever is going on in your life right now, and look for how Christ can touch you. Stay in the word and prayer, because it is your vital sustenance.

 

This meant a lot to me right now, because of my struggle to keep a consistent and deep scripture and prayer time with God. It is a great encouragement, knowing that to find true belonging, I must go to the true home I belong in: the word of God.

 

 

I really appreciate how much you all pray for me! Please let me know how I can pray for you! I hope to write an update with some more specifics of what I've been up to the last couple of weeks soon.

 

Until then,

Jonathan