Jesus was talking to the Jews. People who were drowning in rules. Rules they believed brought salvation. Can you imagine the details of everything they were required to follow? Just the rules that governed their meals seemed impossible to get right. By the time Jesus walked on to the scene the people had taken God's laws to extreme.
Putting myself in their shoes I know what my reaction would have been. At some point I probably would have thrown my hands in the air and given up. After all who wants to obey a lot of stifling rules?
Reading one verse back gives a clearer picture of what Jesus was saying to the Jews and to us. "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Holding to what Jesus taught was a new concept for them...for us too. In that day many asked Jesus about the law...what they should follow. When asked Jesus gives his thoughts on the most important commandment. In one moment he took all of those laws and summed it up...love God...love others. That's it? Really? Could this be the truth that sets us free?
It was then, it is now, it always will be. What a great test for those rules we think get us closer to God. Quiet times, church attendance, the giving of our money are all good things, but not because they are rules someone has taught us brings salvation. These are the natural desires of a heart that loves God. It really all boils down to THE one thing...loving God.
Even as I typed the last sentence, I took a deep breath. Loving God is freedom. Thinking about it brings a smile to my face. It is the truth that sets us free.
"Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. " John 8: 34-36
