By Sandra Wyatt
Welcome to Scripture Saturday! Today we continue our memorization of verses found in John with verses 8:31-32…
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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.”
The amplified version of these verses…
So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and Truth will set you free.
“A disciple is one who learns from a teacher. This learning is experiential—goes beyond learning facts. True discipleship involves becoming like the teacher in thought and action. In Jesus’ day, a disciple of a rabbi would live in close proximity to his rabbi over a long period of time. He would not only learn the rabbi’s teachings, but over time would learn how the rabbi thought—how he analyzed data and formed conclusions—how he conducted himself. The disciple would try to become as much like the rabbi as possible. That is what Jesus is asking us to do here. We are to learn from him and to become as much like him as possible.”
Truth and freedom are the blessings that Jesus offers those who“ abide in (His) word” (v. 31). Something excellent happens when we remain in Jesus’ word. In the early years of our faith, we understand only a little, but as we “hold fast to (His) teaching and live in accordance with them“ our understanding and faith grow.
“Unlike our physical vision which dims with age, our spiritual vision grows clearer as we remain in His word over a period of time. We often see that kind of deep spirituality demonstrated in the lives of older Christians whose lives, in spite of the hardships associated with growing older, have a settled, peaceful quality. It is not simply that they have gained more and more knowledge about the bible, but that their lifetime journey of faith has taught them what they could never have learned from a book. They have grown in faith by studying the bible, but they have also grown in faith by walking with Jesus. Their walk with Jesus has made them free.” (various authors)
May we all be true disciples of Jesus!
Have a precious and blessed day everyone!