Inherited Faith

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” John 8:31-33

I have been Lutheran my whole life. Within two months of being born, my parents had me baptized. They brought my brother and I to church every Sunday, where my mother was the bell choir director and accompanist on piano. Both sets of grandparents and other relatives attended the same church, and our extended family is filled with the faithful. I am deeply grateful for being raised in the church and learning about God's grace and love from an early age. I inherited a faith tradition and have become a pastor in the same tradition. That being said, this faith was not my own until I was an adult. I inherited a faith tradition but did not choose it. I was raised Lutheran, but religious custom and family tradition is not, on its own, faith. This we cannot inherit but must receive, as a gift from God. My faith became the center point of my life, not because I was raised in the church, but because I personally and powerfully have experienced God's love in my life. I have experienced the truth and the truth has set me free.


This truth and faith is what Jesus came to proclaim and live. He tells the crowd to continue "in my word" and you will know the truth. This was an unwelcome message to those who inherited their Jewish faith. They were told they were God's chosen people by birthright. That as descendants of Abraham they had been given God's full blessing. Jesus challenges them to move beyond faith as custom, tradition, and inheritance and move toward faith as truth, love, and obedience to God. The tension between Jesus' proclamations and Jewish tradition come to a boiling point because Jesus challenged the fundamental assumptions of faith as inheritance. Rather than accept the truth and change, they would prefer to believe a lie. No matter how hard Jesus tries, or how patient he is, some will never accept the truth.


Jesus is the "way the truth and the life" (cf. John 14:6) and whoever follows him will have eternal life. Faith, unlike an inheritance, is not given to a special few, or disseminated by birthright, or a matter of education or good works. Faith is a gift from God, activated by the Spirit and received by those open to it. It is a gift intended for all people and not just some people. Faith is a matter of trusting God and being set free from all that binds us.


Prayer: Lord, help me to know the truth and be set free. Allow your Spirit to work within me so I might grow in faith, love, and obedience to your will, in Jesus' name, AMEN.