Read John 8:31-47. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Digging Deeper
Freedom. The freedom to pursue Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is the American Dream. To pursue whatever life’s dream, to do or be whatever one wants, and the lack of restriction to pursue one’s happiness.
For Christians, the American Dream places us in a strait, a bind with Jesus’ Dream. Jesus said this, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Which dream is true: The American Dream or the Jesus’ Dream? Which one gives us true freedom and which one gives us bondage?
We say to ourselves, “I can have the best of both worlds. It’s not an either-or choice, but both!” But deep down within us, we know that is false for the Spirit convicts us that we can’t love the world and love God at the same time. It’s one or the other.
For many “Christians,” they aren’t disciples of Jesus, but rather cultural Christians – attempting to act like a “good” Christian. They are the Sunday Christian who attends church at once or twice a month, limits the cursing, gives his offering and lives the other six and half days like his non-believing neighbor and coworkers. It’s taking the easy path, swimming down stream in life. It’s not what most people would say is a “bad” life, but is it a truly fulfilling life?
If one wants to be a disciple of Jesus, then one seeks to follow the teachings of Jesus. It’s not about dos and don’ts of other Christians, but the goal of pleasing and glorify God as we walk in Him. It’s discovering and experiencing the will of God each day. It’s never routine. It is often counterculture. It’s swimming upstream in life. Often, it’s hard, but it makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.
Jesus offers His followers a freedom to be unlike everyone else. It’s a freedom to be what we were created for, to be in His likeness and image. It is experiencing the fellowship of God and the power of God flowing through one’s life by the Holy Spirit. It’s living the supernatural, extraordinary spiritual life.
Each day we stand at a crossroad of the American Dream or the Jesus Dream. Which road are you on today? Which road will you be on the tomorrows of your life and my life?
-Kingston