Freedom of Truth (Part 1)
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read John 8:31-32.
Verse of the Day: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Brian ran excitedly from one exhibit to another as he and his father toured the Air and Space Museum. Brian loved airplanes, helicopters, and spaceships. He had a collection of airplane toys and models. He wanted to be a pilot when he grew up.
“Brian,” his dad called. “Come over here. I want you to see something.”
Brian joined Dad beside the airplane the Wright brothers had flown at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.
“Do you know what this is?” Dad asked.
Brian made an impatient sound. “Give me a break, Dad! This is Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first plane. It was the first power airplane. It flew thirty miles on its first flight.”
“Hmm,” Dad said, sounding impressed. “How did they know it would fly?”
“Because they did all kinds of tests, Dad. They really studied the laws of aerodynamics and all that kind of stuff.”
Dad thought for a moment, then looked at Brian. “Let me ask you another question. What do you think would have happened if the Wright brothers had tried to fly without studying the laws of aerodynamics?”
“They would have crashed!”
“You mean they never would have flown? like a bird? They never would have been free to fly through the air?”
Brian looked suspiciously at his dad. “What’s this all about, Dad?”
Dad smiled and shrugged. “I just wanted you to recognize how the truth can set people free, Brian. If the Wright brothers hadn’t paid attention to the laws of physics, like gravity and force and velocity and all that stuff, their airplane would have never gotten off the ground. It was the truth that set them free to fly.”
Dad continued, “The same thing happens in other things, too. If you or I go through life ignoring God’s truth, we’ll never know real freedom. We’ll be imprisoned in sin. We may be enslaved by drugs, or depression, or other things.
“But if we know God’s truth, and pay attention to it, and obey it, we’ll be free—free from sin and free from the consequences of wrong choices. That’s what Jesus meant when he said ‘the truth will set you free.
Brian glanced at the plane again, then looked back to his father. “I see what you mean,” he said thoughtfully.
TO DISCUSS: What does the phrase “the truth will set you free” mean to you? Have you been reminded of any truths today? In what ways has knowing the truth set you free? Can you give examples?
TO PRAY: “Loving God, set us free by your truth.”