Whac-A-Mole: Relativism — Wednesday
John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NIV)
When I was a young boy growing up, every Sunday after church, my family would get together with the other families from my parents’ Sunday school class. Inevitably, we would all end up at someone’s house and have lunch together. The parents would converse about the vast and grand responsibilities of adulting while us kids would run and play in the yard. It was a weekend routine we never missed.
The adventure-seeking child I was, I never failed to find myself in some sort of predicament. I was the youngest and smallest boy in the group but insisted on doing everything the other boys did. One of our family friends had a massive oak tree in their backyard. They made a makeshift ladder up the tree by nailing a half-dozen footlong two-by-fours to it, which led to the crudest tree house ever built. Every Sunday, I would climb up those two-by-fours and into the branches of that tree. And every Sunday, I would find myself trapped in a tree prison ten feet off the ground.
Not only did I climb that tree and get stuck in that tree every Sunday. But every Sunday, I also heard the warning from my father: “Stay out of the tree. Remember, you got trapped there last week. Stay on the ground where you are free to run and play.” And every Sunday, after disobeying the truth of my father’s command, without punishment, my father would climb the two-by-four ladder up the old oak tree to come and rescue me and set me free from the prison I found myself trapped in, carrying me down and placing my feet on solid ground.
In the same way my earthly father rescued me out of the oak tree, so also does our Heavenly Father rescue us from the sin that so easily ensnares us. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The key word in this verse is ONLY. Satan comes ONLY to steal, kill, and destroy, to keep us locked in our prison through disobedience and deceit. There is a freedom that can only be found in Jesus—the promise of an abundant life. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1a).
Wednesday’s Reflection
Are there any areas of your life where you still feel like a prisoner to deceit or disobedience? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and lead you into the freedom found only in Jesus Christ.