“Memory Loss”


BIBLE READING: John 8

                It amazes me how quickly people forget some things.  As Jesus is educating the Jews about Him being the “Light of the World”, He reminds those who had believed Him that if they abide in His word that “they will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8.31-32).  Freedom is not really something that we can appreciate until we understand what it means to be enslaved.  Maybe that is why the Jew’s response has somewhat troubled me, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, you will become free?” (John 8.33) How can they be serious?  I understand that their inheritance from being a child of Abraham carried an awful lot of weight and prestige, but the children of Abraham have been enslaved many times.  First, how could a devout Jew have forgotten about their bondage in Egypt?  Next, how could they have overlooked their captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.  Then, as they were all looking for the promised Messiah to come, they were hoping that He would relieve them from the oppression they were facing currently by the Romans.  Finally, we have their current state of bondage that they are all facing by being held captive by their sin, in which Jesus explains in John 8.34-38.  Then again, I really don’t want to be over critical of the lapse in memory of the Jews in this passage; Our memories are not much better.  For instance, today is Monday and Mondays are always the day in which we typically complain about all the things that are going wrong.  Have you ever said something to the effect that “Nothing has gone right today, everything about this day has been horrible!”? Really… did the sun come up today?  Did you get to enjoy the gift of oxygen today?  Are you still able to experience God’s wonderful grace and love today?  You see, we suffer from a memory loss as well!  Today, make a special effort to thank God for all the things we take for granted on a regular basis.  Maybe that will help us keep our memory skills sharp!


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