"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." // John 8:32
From the time I was a little girl, I had a sensitive conscience. It was sometimes difficult for me to tell a lie. If I did, I almost immediately confessed or my parents could clearly see the truth in my eyes. As I grew up, I clearly knew the difference between a lie and the truth.
However, on a deeper level, I did not realize the lies I believed about myself. I believed things about myself that other people had piled up on me. I began to believe untruths about myself. And as I got older, I began to see how these lies confused me about what I felt and how I thought about myself.
In the Gospel today (John 8:31-42), Jesus reminds the disciples that if they stay close to His words, they will know the truth and that truth will set them free. We become freer when we reject sin and live in the freedom of God. Part of knowing the truth is knowing the truth about ourselves before God. When we stay close to God, we know this truth: we are His daughters.
My pastor will often say in his Sunday homilies that Satan has two primary lies he is trying to tangle up and confuse in our hearts: you don't have what it takes and you are not enough.
When we confuse the truth and believe lies about ourselves or about God, we are not free. We are not living in the abundance or freedom Jesus desires for each of us. The real truth about each of us is that we are a beloved son or daughter of God. "Beloved" is a precious name Jesus uses to address you and me.
Truth knowing leads to truth-telling. When we know the truth of about who we are in Jesus, we can be truth-tellers in a broken world and help other people come to know the truth about themselves through the light of Jesus. Who needs to hear this truth from you today?
Truth knowing leads to truth-telling. // @amoderngraceClick to tweet
Patty Breen serves as Ministry Formation Manager of Ascension Health and writes online in several different spaces. Her loves include CrossFit, writing and speaking, strong cups of coffee, Ignatian spirituality, and loving on her godchildren, niece, and nephew. Patty is passionate about messy and deep conversations at the intersection of faith, culture, and ministry. Find out more about her here.
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