Free from Lies

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (RSV)

She could see that the fruit was good to eat. It had a beauty that caused words to fail. Tasting it would complete who she knew she was created to be. Her hand reached, touched, and picked the fruit. It was delightful, more than she could have imagined. Raising it to her lips, teeth breaking the fruit's skin, in that instant, she realized the lie.

Eve ate the fruit forbidden by God. She traded the Father's Truth for a lie. She had allowed herself to think that she was incomplete, partially human. Grasping the fruit, biting deeply, would make her whole, even god-like.

She traded all she ever would need for a lie. She sold the love and mercy of God for the emptiness of sin. The freedom she thought she deserved became slavery, bondage to sin, and death.

The lie never changes. It is the same in every generation, 'you shall be like God!' Oh, it comes in different forms, cleverly disguising itself until we, too, have sunk our teeth deep. Then we can see the lie, see it with the clarity hell would afford. Like Eve, at that moment when she thought herself truly free, we are lost, ashamed of our existence.

Jesus is our freedom. He is the unwavering Truth. The evil one's lie cannot stand before Him. Jesus exposes the lie we choose as our master. He will not let it enslave us. He pours out His lifeblood on the Cross, dies, descending into the realm of lies to triumph over the father of lies.

His resurrection is the Truth. It is our freedom. By the Father's grace, we can see the lie for what it is. He sets us free from its slavery. In Jesus is the only freedom that has any meaning. We are free to live in the Father, now and forever.