the Truth loves You

Jesus was saying to thsoe Jews who had believed HIm, "If you continue in my Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

...Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.


"The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

In the above verses what does Jesus say is true about the one who commits sin? Do you see the truth of this verse manifested in society today? How?


Also according to the above verses, who is the only one who can set the slave "free indeed"?


If, as Jesus says in these verses "the truth will make you free," where is the truth to be found?


I encourage any reader, if you have the time (or will make the time), to read the verses and answer the questions. It is not long and doesn't take much depth in thought, however, it can still be insightful.

If you choose to answer them, then just pause here and answer before continuing to read...

I have a friend who often declares with great conviction that the greatest words one can ever speak to another person are "Jesus loves you." In Romaneste it is said, "Isus te iubeste", in Ewe it is, "Yesu lca wo."

The above verses and questions are taken from a Bible study entitled Having a Real Relationship with God (authored by Kay Arthur), through which I am currently working. When I answerd the last question in italics (above) "where is the truth to be found"...I thought, "It's to be found in Jesus, right?" So naturally, as I thought about the phrase "Jesus loves you", I replaced Jesus with "the Truth" as this is also who Jesus is. When I said aloud, "The Truth loves you", it almost seemed oxymoronic!

I mean, come on! Most of us hate the truth. We avoid it. We stick to our illusions and our pre-conceived notions along with our shallow daily interactions-not just with people but also with information, knowledge, work, eating habits, money and so on and so forth. For instance, if I really sat face-to-face with the truth of my eating habits at the beginnong of 2012, I would have definitely seen the truth of myself as a glutton. (Some reading this might still try to force me to stick to the illusion that I was not but that is just not the truth. I ate in excess. I ate beause I enjoyed it. I carried around 30 extra pounds as evidence. But I digress.)

So to say, "The Truth loves you" almost seems ridiculous. How about our slogan- "The truth hurts"? The truth as we know it is painful!

But maybe that's just it. We don't know the Real Truth. We don't know Jesus as the truth.

Let's go back to my 'glutton' example. The real truth is, although i enjoyed what I was eating, it was hazardous to my health and put extra, unnecessary, often painful stress on my body. It wasn't the truth that really hurt...it was the illusion that hurt; it was my choosing enjoyable yet poor eating habits.

On a much deeper level, the Real Truth, Jesus, doesn't hurt. He heals. The Truth sets people free, from addictions, from pain, from pride, from anger, from destruction. He brings peace and joy and unity and love and true humility; yet the journeys to this freedom encompassing these are not always easy.

Before I started this devotional this morning, the inquisition came, "Why would I want other people to know Jesus intimately?"

The only way I could answer this was to peer into my own life and see where God has given me an incredible relationship with my mother, whereas before we struggled to relate to each other. I saw where I was a slave to sin that unhurriedly sought to destroy me, and I experienced Jesus taking me from a devastating place of ruin and worthlessness to a place of healing and purpose. After seven years of choosing to folllow Him, I see how, even when I fall into temptation and make poor decisions for myself and my faith, HE, Jesus, the Truth, is the one who really loves me and who brings me back to a place that is best for myself and for others.

SO today I say to you reading this, "The Truth loves you. He unquestionably loves you."