The Truth will set you Free

So Jesus said to them who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Yesterday the snow came down all day. Some times it was a gentle snow and other times in came down heavy and hard, blowing fiercely every direction. When all was said and done we have nearly a foot of snow on the ground. Today dawned bright and the roads are clear for the most part and the world is getting back to normal. The days leading up to yesterday's storm were riddled with anxiety and speculation. Lots of people dashing to the store in fear and lots of people acting like the end of the world was near. From this vantage point, with the sun making the world bright and shimmery, the fear and expectations seems silly. When the true situation has been revealed, the fear is melted away and one feels liberated from the expected consequences. Which is not to say there isn't a great deal of clean up to be done - but the true picture wipes out the worst case scenario so many of us imagined.

Our Gospel finds Jesus inviting us to be faithful - and in the truth of that faith, the burden of fear and disaster are lifted and we can be our true selves, the ones fashioned in the image of the Creator. We can be fully the children of God when we are set free from our fears of failure, judgment and impending disaster. The truth of God's love for us is that love never fails, never ends and delivers us beyond the worst we can imagine to a place of freedom.

Today, I rejoice in the reminders all around us of God's abiding love for us, God's care for the weak and strong alike, and the hope filled promise of the bright sunshine. We have weathered yet another storm through God love and grace. May we all have the courage to live in the light of God's love for us, which is true freedom, every day, even in the midst of life's worst storms.