“and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”” (John 8:32, NRSV)
Freedom is not something automatic and inherent to our humanity. That’s an interesting thing to consider isn’t it? We tend to assume that we are already free, because, when presented with a range of options, we have the capacity to make a selection. At a fork in the road, we can choose to go left or right. At the drive through, when asked if we want the large fries and large drink, we can respond yes or no. When presented with a moral choice, we can choose to right or wrong. When scrolling through Netflix, we can pick a show and, in picking that show, we can exclude all the other shows. We know we have this freedom because, over and over again, we have made such choices.
If we have that kind of freedom already, then what kind of freedom is Jesus talking about? What kind of freedom do I not currently have because I do not know the truth?
First of all, I’m not sure we really have the first kind of freedom, at least not to the degree we assume. Many of our choices that appear to demonstrate this kind of freedom are quite conditioned by a very long list of factors over which we have little to no awareness or control. Perhaps discovering this truth is itself a clue. Even the scope of our ability to choose among options is an illusion, a deception. Viewed through the lens of Jesus’ statement above, this illusion is not an expression of our freedom; it rather expresses our lack of freedom.
There is an inversely proportional relationship between options and truth. The more options I have, the less truth. The more truth I have, the fewer options. In any given situation, you may have a broad range of options. The less you know about any of the options, the more freedom you have to choose any of them. But as you research the options, examine the issues, think through the ramifications and consequences, seek wisdom from the experienced, and even check in with your gut intuition, the range of options begins to shrink. There is a conceivable point at which knowing the truth might eliminate all options but one.
But then how can I be free with only one option? The very question assumes that freedom is the ability to choose among options with incomplete understanding. That’s not what freedom is. True freedom happens when truth delivers me from the illusion, the mirage, of most options. Instead of the capacity to choose among options, truth frees me from the deceptions, delusions, and distortions of perception that make all the options seem real or appealing.
We have an intrinsic desire for that which is good and beautiful and satisfying—and life presents us with many options for pursuing those things. Hopefully you’ve lived enough life to know that most of those options are a mirage. It is not freedom to choose your own particular mirage. That’s not freedom. It’s slavery. It is choice chained to delusion.
True freedom is surrender. True freedom results from discovering truth that eliminates all the options but one. True freedom is the ability to surrender to that truth and choose the only real option, the only water that is not a mirage.
this is incredibly well communicated