Loyalty to Christ pays off.

Am I a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Who belongs to Jesus? Who is a true disciple of Jesus? The one who perseveres in his words, who knows the truth and gains freedom from evil, who understands suffering, knows how to rise above the pettiness that confronts us in life. Who before God is a true disciple? Jesus says this: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31-32). posterity, and we have never enslaved anyone” (John 8:33).

We see that they do not want to give up their right to the election because they come from Abraham’s seed. Jesus wants to show them what their mistake is. They are to realize that although they feel themselves to be sons of Abraham, they are to realize even more that they are sons of God. This means that they must place the sonship of God above the sonship of Abraham. It follows that if they recognized God as their Father as they claim, they would love Jesus as the Son of God and would persevere in his word. Thus, they would become true disciples of Jesus Christ. Then they would know the truth and the truth would set them free from sin. But they don’t want this. That is why Jesus tells them: “…you want to kill me because my word does not take hold in you. I speak of what I have seen with the Father” (Jn 8:37-38).

This problem continued even after the sending of the Holy Spirit, when it happened that the Jewish Christians, that is, the Jews who accepted the teachings of Christ, did not want the Gentiles who accepted the teachings of Christ to accept circumcision as well. They still looked at their election only according to the fleshly origin, that is, they came from the family of Abraham. With this, Jesus tells them to accept his teaching, the teaching of “truth”, and thus become a new person.

Today, we do not base ourselves on any bodily origin. The door to the teachings of Jesus Christ is open to everyone and is not closed to anyone. The condition is that we not only believe Jesus’ words but also implement them in our lives. If we live according to the truth, that is, without sin, we will gain freedom and the right to a new, eternal life. As long as we live here on earth, we must always be aware of the fight against evil, so we cannot always want Jesus to protect us from suffering. On the contrary, in the crosses that are placed on us, we are to prove that we are true children of God.

We know from the lives of the saints that when they gave themselves whole and completely to Christ when they truly lived Paul’s words: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,” they recognized that Jesus’ teaching made them free. Even today, many believe that when they faith, the teaching of Christ forbids something because it takes away their freedom. The life of a believing Christian is worthy of reward or punishment. Therefore, above everything, why we work, what we want, what we own, above everything, let us set one goal, ultimate and true, and that is the fulfillment of God’s will in everything. A life lived in this way, when we are faithful to Christ even in little things, will say that we belong to Christ