Truth Shall Make You Free

Someone just told me they don't want to spend the holidays with someone in their family because that person always puts them down and it hurts too much.

I understand.  I've experienced similar things.  But in a sense, that was "in another life", so I won't talk about it right now.

I'm a student in a school of ministry and one of the books assigned to read is "Supernatural Ways of Royalty" by Kris Vallotin.  I highly recommend it.  The book is all about the fact that when we accepted Jesus as our Savior we literally became children, sons and daughters, of God, who is a King.  That makes us "royal".  And the book explains what that does and should mean in our lives, and how this fact should affect how we think about ourselves and the world we live in.

Which brings me to the title of this post.  In John 8:32 Jesus is quoted as saying, "the truth shall make you free."  He was referring to the truth about who He was and the truth about freedom from burdens of Levitical law, etc.  But this statement has huge ramifications in every area of life, including the situation my friend faces, and my family experiences growing up, too.  The spiritual part of it, is of course, the first thing that comes to mind.

The truth about who God is and that Jesus died for us to save us and was resurrected and defeated death, is the Gospel -- the good news for all mankind.  And it's our hope that more people will accept this truth.

There is the truth and there is what is not the truth.  It is there.  But for example, if your parents were rich and you didn't know it, the truth is still that you were born into a wealthy family, but you might live like a pauper. So it's not just "truth" that makes you free, it's KNOWING and BELIEVING THE TRUTH that makes you free.

So many situations would be different if the people involved would know and believe the truth.  People would avoid foods or activities that are bad for them.  Our country's voting history would likely be different if the whole truth came out.  People who need to would go to jail and the innocent would not. And the list goes on. 

But what about the situation in my first paragraph?  I was reflecting on this, and the book, and the "truth makes you free" statement.  

If you had black hair and I said you were a blonde, how would you feel?  What if you had brown eyes and I told you I thought they were blue and was jealous of your blue eyes?   Those things are easy for you to know the truth and believe, and nothing anyone says or does could make you believe you have a different color hair or eyes than you have.  You would know that I was simply "incorrect" and not buy into what I said.  You might even think I was crazy!

The same is true for how you feel about yourself inside.  If you know the truth about your gifts, your talents, what you're good at and what you're not, it gives you FREEDOM to accomplish things, and freedom from put-downs and believing discouraging things said by other people.

We all have things we are good at.  We all have things we are not good at.  Which one should you focus on?  Is it logical to focus more on what you DO have or to focus on your shortcomings?  And if you are good at something, does someone telling you you're lousy at it change anything?

So if someone tells me I'm lousy at sports (I am), should I feel bad about that? No, because there are things I AM good at, so sports doesn't matter.  

As an aside:  Don't forget to forgive the person insulting you -- people are people and they get things wrong, are "incorrect", and the blood of Jesus will cover those mistakes as much as any others.

My wish for my loved ones (children, grandchildren, friends, and my students) and even myself, is that they would be so grounded in the truth of who they are, both in God and in the "natural", that they can be literally immune to put-downs. That they would know their worth and contribution to those around them.

Read Ephesians 3:14-19.  You are loved.  So much. Know this.  Believe this. Know the truth of what you're good at, no matter how small it seems. Read those verses as a prayer every day, and it will set you free.