A Thought For The Week Of May 8, 2017

"If the Son comes to make you free, you will really be free." (John 8:36) I found myself wondering as I read these words - free from what? "If the Son comes to make you free, you will really be free." OK. But - again - free from what? Was Jesus speaking in political terms? Do we see an early nod toward what ultimately became liberation theology - the idea that Jesus seeks to free people from political oppression and persecution? I certainly think that's a worthy goal, in keeping with the teachings of Jesus, but I doubt that Jesus was thinking in political terms when he spoke these words. The very orthodox, traditional Christian answer to that question would be - free from sin. That would probably also represent the typical fundamentalist or evangelical answer today. Freedom from sin - or, at least, from the consequences of sin. I can see that. I can then take it one step further. If one agrees with Paul that "the wages of sin is death" then perhaps what the Son is setting us free from is death itself. I can see that as well. I believe that this life isn't all that there is. I believe in eternal life. So that works for me. But to be honest I think I need to keep pressing the question. I still need to ask "free from what?" Maybe the real answer to the question is freedom from fear. Perhaps that's the key. Oppression, sin and death all cause fear - fear of consequences, fear of punishment, fear of the end. But if all these things are ultimately overcome by Jesus, then what the Son is really setting us free from is, in fact, fear itself. Franklin Roosevelt said "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." But in Christ there is no room for fear at all. Actually, with Jesus we don't even really have to be afraid of fear! Because of Jesus we can live without fear. Because of Jesus I have the freedom to serve God as best I can without fearing that it's not good enough, without fearing the risks involved. Because of Jesus I can stand against all the powers (spiritual and otherwise) that would try to oppress me. This is the work of the Son. Because he comes to make us free, we "will really be free."