Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, February 25, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Freedom isn’t a simple thing. Contrary to popular belief, true freedom isn’t being able to do whatever you want whenever you want however you want without regard for any other human being or part of creation than yourself. That, quite simply, is selfishness.
True freedom is the ability and desire to choose what is good. That means recognizing the sacred interdependence of all of God’s creation, and desiring its flourishing as God does. It means giving up selfishness for the benefit of others. It means complete and total trust that God—not the world—can and does provide everything needed for a rich, satisfying life for everyone.
As long as we are slaves to our selfishness, we cannot possibly choose what is good, nor even want to. Jesus can free us from our selfishness through the truth. And the truth is that the entirely of creation was redeemed because Jesus rejected selfishness for our sake. And if Jesus’ truth has made us free, we shall be free indeed.
How do I define freedom?