John 8:21-51

There were two passages within this section of verses that stood out to me today. The first one is verses 23-24:

Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives."

Jesus' kingdom is different than our culture. He's talking about a life that's beyond what we see and touch. Somehow I think there's this part inside each of us, a little voice that whispers to us sometimes that there's got to be something more than just what's in front of us.

I believe Jesus is God and that He died on the cross in my place and rose again 3 days later. I believe that by asking Him to forgive my sins and to be in charge of my life that a supernatural change takes place within me; that my spirit becomes reborn. So I've got that last part of the verse.

But really strikes me is the first part. In my daily life, am I too missing God in all this? Am I so caught up in all the things that I can see and touch that my horizons are way too small? I'm feeling like He wants so much more for me.

Father, I thank You so very much for giving me the ability and inclination to believe in Jesus. Thank You for saving me! Help me not stop at that. Help me not get so caught up in the mundane. May I take care of daily business but have a heart that's attached to You and Your larger than I can ever imagine horizons.

The second passage that hit me in this set of verses was the 34-38:

Jesus said, "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave is a transient, who can't come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through. I know you are Abraham's descendants. But I also know that you are trying to kill me because my message hasn't yet penetrated your thick skulls. I'm talking about things I have seen while keeping company with the Father, and you just go on doing what you have heard from your father."

The bit about how, if we're involved in sin, we are trapped and can't come and go at will really hit me. Then is contrasts that with how Jesus sets His followers totally free.

Am I living in the freedom Jesus has for me? Or am I allowing myself to be trapped by sin?

Oh Father, search me and know my heart. Show me where I'm too attached to sin in my life. Help me live, freely, in Your life today.