YouTube: The Spirit of Freedom
“For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” John 18:37
When I read this passage, I hear Jesus saying that he recognized his mission, his purpose in life, as one of demonstrating what it means to live from the awareness of his oneness with God.
I don’t see Jesus making this statement as exclusive to himself, but more as the ultimate objective of every person. When he said that you will know the truth and the truth will make you free, he was saying that the truth of our oneness with God is the key to true freedom.
While we celebrate freedom as a nation, it’s clear that simply living in a geographical location does not guarantee us the level of inner freedom that we long for. We can be free to move about, to pursue our interests, to interact with our family and friends and yet live in the bondage of some form of fear. Fear is debilitating at every level. It’s grounded in the perception that the thing we fear is greater than our ability to resolve it.
To bear witness to the truth is to connect with a deeper level that enables us to rise above fear and successfully meet the challenge that confronts us. How do we do this? How do we move beyond spiritual platitudes and arrive at place of understanding that assures our freedom? The first thing we do is acknowledge the influence of perception. Unlike a fixed reality, a perception, which is a mental impression that we form based on the limited facts at our disposal, can be changed.
When Jesus warned against judging by appearances, he was talking about the mental impressions we form and react to based on information that comes through the senses. He is saying we can break this cycle and free ourselves from the emotional roller-coaster ride that we often fall victim to. We release the energy we are giving a perception and we affirm the truth we want to express.
I now release the energy that I’m pouring into this mental picture. The perfect resolution is now unfolding through this situation and through my life.
We are each here to bear witness to the truth of our being. The spirit of freedom is alive in each one of us because, at the deepest level, we are already free.