John’s tweets for today:

• Jesus says “Stick w/ my teaching, living it out. Then you’ll experience truth & the truth will set you free.”
• The people say they’ve never been slaves. Jesus: “Anyone who chooses life of sin is a slave who can’t come & go at will”

• “A slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. If the Son sets you free, you will surely be free.”
• Jesus says “I tell you the truth, if a person doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate, but sneaks in another way, he’s only a thief…”

• “The shepherd walks in through the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep know his voice.”

• “I am the Gate for the sheep. All the others before me were thieves who came to steal, kill & destroy.”

• “Anyone who goes through me will be taken care of. I came so they will have real, eternal life. Full and abundant life.”

• “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep & they know me. I lay my life down for my sheep & take it up again.”

One of the things that jumps out at me in this story, is the people didn’t recognize that they were in bondage.  They claim they have never been slaves.

We often walk around caged in and enslaved to attitudes or perceptions or addictions or…  We get so used to the bars that we no longer recognize them as something other than ourselves, as something that’s holding us down.

But Jesus offers freedom and life.  He wants to set us free from slavery and give us a permanent place as children of God.  He is truly our Redeemer and Rescuer.

Bible reference: John 8:31-36, John 10:1-21

photo credit: Steve Snodgrass