And the truth will set you free!

     Really?!  That's what the Bible says so it must be true.  Experience is often the antithesis to this saying.  We learn of something terrible and are enslaved with the gravity of the situation.  We watch a loved one struggle with an illness we know and they know will kill them and hardly feel free from the struggle with death.  Freedom in these cases is greatly exaggerated and hardly free at all.  We have physical restraints, mental restraints and of course soul restraints that come into play with all aspects of our lives, the development of those aspects and the implementation of those aspects.  What we do with travesty is totally up to you and I.  What we do with tragedy is again totally up to you and I.  What we do with anything that happens, good or bad, in our lives will determine wither there is freedom or not.  The Bible says we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free.  Our questions should be directed to Pilate's question, "What is truth." 
     Larry and I became friends in our work.  He was devout Catholic and I devout Protestant.  How our faith came into play wasn't about theological differences or even agreements.  Our faith came into play in our relationship because at this time in both of our lives we felt alone and definitely not free.  Larry asked me one day if I was afraid of death.  I told him no.  He asked why and I said that death was a transition that everyone makes.  Our last exhale here on earth is followed by our first inhale in heaven.  Because of my faith I believe that heaven is real, the promises of eternal life are real and so the transition from here on earth to there in heaven is a sure truth that has set me free from the fear of dying.  He had never thought about death that way and was going to think on it.  Like Larry, there have been many times when I have decided to contemplate a situation or problem rather than accept the truth of the matter.  Because I didn't move forward I carried along with me unnecessary crap that prevented me from feeling a release followed by freedom around those subjects. 
     This applies to all aspects of our lives.  I can deceive myself with rationalizations and manipulations all I want.  Neither will result in freedom.  I can justify and make excuses all I want regarding issues in my life; yet freedom is out of my reach.  There is nothing I can do to change the circumstances by which I've been enslaved for years UNTIL I first admit that there is a lie in my life.  The lie sometimes has seemed necessary in order to survive serious situations while unnecessary in order to avoid addressing that which clearly would render our lives better.  We also carry another burden with us.  There are people in our circle who either encourage us to deal with stuff and be free or there are people who tell us that we can be perfectly content or powerless in our lives if we want.  These nagging voices can wear us down.  Remember that freedom and not enslavement is the focus our lives should take.  Whether we acknowledge it or not, there are times when we need to stop listening to all our earthly connections and just connect with God letting his truth set us free. 
     I know that it's easier said than done.  I've fought with this problem all my Christian life.  I didn't know I wasn't free before becoming a Christian.. Freedom in Christ is the first truth that ties to every other truth.  When I look back to my life (dead) before Christ and compare it to my life (alive) now, there is a freedom I experience that I didn't even know existed before.  I want you to keep in mind that I am a fallen creature just like you.   I have my failings just as you have yours.  I've chosen slavery to a lie over freedom with the truth so many times that I think I hold dual citizenship!  That is no excuse for me to begin my day anything less than free.  If issues come up through the day we are to simply turn them over to God who knows the truth and in him there is no lie.  Therefore, there is no more condemnation in Christ Jesus.  He brought the truth to us personally in order that we could be free in him, with him, and for him.