When I was a young kid I remember hating curfew. Curfew was like a dirty word in my book. On a school night you had to be in by dinner time and you had to go to bed by 9:00pm. I really thought my parents were literally holding out on me. They got to stay up, watch TV and do whatever they wanted, why couldn't I? They had all the freedom, all the authority, and I had none. I was a prisoner locked in his cell. I wanted to rebel, gain my freedom and live how I wanted to live. I thought true freedom was the ability to do what I want when I want.
All of us fight for freedom. We want freedom to make our own choices, do our own thing, be our own person. We want it our way and we want it now. We don't want anyone to tell us we can't, shouldn't, or won't. When we hear those words we feel like they are trying to hold us down. The problem with our definition of freedom is, that's not Christ's definition of true freedom. In John 8:32 Jesus says, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Notice Jesus doesn't define freedom as the ability to do what you want when you want, but rather to know the truth in your life. To live a lie is not freedom, to live in ignorance is not freedom, but rather to know what is true, what is right now that is freedom. Jesus is absolutely right too. When we only live to do what we want we aren't free, but rather we are bound to our own desires and cravings. We are only truly free when we have the freedom to say no. When we know that those things are not right or good for us, when they aren't true. That's freedom.
Jesus also says in John that we have the ability to know this truth through the Holy Spirit. In John 14:17, Jesus tells us that He will send the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of truth to help guide us. Therefore, if we want true freedom we have to be filled with the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is a vital means to finding true freedom in this world.
My challenge to you today is to begin to pray specifically to the Holy Spirit to begin to bring truth into your life, to speak into you today. To know what is right, what is wrong, and let that truth guide you. Take some time and think about your own definition of freedom, and ask yourself if your definition lines up with Jesus' definition.
Here's your group question: Last night I talked about how many of us simply ignore the Holy Spirit all together. Why do you think we do this, and how can we fix this? Let me know your thoughts in our comment box!
we ignore the Holy Spirit because we feel like it's taking away what we have. When it really doesn't of course. Like, we ignore it because we want to do things our way, even though we have to do things the way God wants us to anyway.
ReplyDeleteI guess we can fix it by just getting over our pride and our ego and just listening to the Holy Spirit. It's called letting go. like, no matter how much we want that power or that pride we have, we have to just let go and give it over to God. Another way we can fix this is by praying and asking for guidance.
Excellent comment Cassidy!
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