Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
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October 31, 2017
500 years ago today a frumpy, dog-faced, melancholy German monk started a conversation that changed my life. Like Luther before encountering the truth of Jesus Christ, I thought everything was all about me. Like Luther, I was my own judge and jury. Like Luther, I was twisted into a death spiral of my own guilt and shame just for being human. And then there was Luther pointing to Christ, to being justified by grace apart from works of the law. And I learned the truth that set me free. The truth is that it is not all about me. Christ set me free from me. I still carry around my own frumpy, dog-faced, melancholy countenance because there are some days when life truly is awful, but by the grace of God, I get a glimpse of the joy and freedom of Christ. It happens the most often when I get out of the way, forget myself, look into the eyes of another human being and listen to them with a heart set free.
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Thank you, Lord, for Luther and all your saints set free who show the grace of God in their own way. Amen.