Closet Cleaning

We all like to believe we are truly free.  We are free to choose for ourselves, to decide our own fate.

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.” - John 8:31–42

It is clear to me that the Jews Jesus was talking to missed the point Jesus was making.

When I hear that the truth will set me free, I don't think of freedom from oppression by someone else.  Instead, I think of my own self-deceptions, those thoughts and feelings of guilt that hold me prisoner.

I think of living a lie.

We all like to believe we are OK.  We have it all under control.  We know what we are doing.

So, why do we feel sad or lost or phony at times?

If we face the truth of who we are inside, we can shed the false images and empty out the closet of all the demons we keep hidden.

Facing the truth is something we need to do ourselves, inwardly, before we can be truthful to others.

Chances are, we don't have serious deep hidden secrets that we need to share to be unburdened.  Chances are, it is the small things that trouble us and keep us in chains.

Here we are at the end of Lent, a time for introspection and self awareness.  Maybe this is a good time to clean out that closet and toss away anything that holds us back from being fully attentive to our life with God.

It may be a lot easier than we think.

More to come...