Saturday, September 13, 2025
Setting People Free
Suppose you have the courage and privilege to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. With the help of a guide, you fly to a beautiful island that few tourists ever get to see. You then hike into a remote village that has recently been discovered and celebrated for its beauty and non-existent crime-rate.
As you crest the hill your eyes are bombarded with beauty everywhere; exquisite cottages, lush gardens, clear blue water and the laughter of happy people. Your guide settles you into your ocean-view cottage. You shower and munch on a mango while perusing the menu of the resort restaurant, which has been highly recommended. Minutes later you enter the restaurant, and the hostess greets you with a broad smile. But you are taken back at the sight. This otherwise healthy person’s teeth are black and decaying. But you are quickly distracted as you are seated by a window overlooking the crystal-clear ocean.
Soon your waiter comes to the table. He also greets you with a broad smile, and you are shocked to see that he, too, has blackened teeth and bleeding gums. If fact you soon notice that every native villager has rotten teeth.
Upon returning to your room, your curiosity overtakes you and you ask the resort hostess the awkward question. “What is wrong with everyone’s teeth?”
“Nothing that I know of,” she replies.
You venture further, “Do you have any toothbrushes or toothpaste I could purchase?”
That starts a conversation you thought you would never have. She explains that she has never heard of such a thing. So you go to your luggage and retrieve your oral hygiene supplies so you can demonstrate and explain that regular brushing keeps teeth strong and clean. But she is not convinced. She asks you to explain to a few co-workers. Several of them take a little toothpaste and put it on the tip of their tongue. They immediately grimace at the strong taste and declare: “I don’t see how you could even stand to put this in your mouth. And the brush looks painful. Nobody around here does anything like you are suggesting. I don’t think we’re interested.”
Oral hygiene is an optional freedom from tooth decay. If you try to offer this freedom to someone who is unfamiliar with it, they may think you are strange. You may likely leave that place not having been able to help anyone. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
One day as Jesus taught he made two statements: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” and “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:32,36.
God sets us free from many things. Then He asks us to help him set others free. But, many times, His freedom involves choices that are counter-cultural or go against the advice of “experts.” This can be frustrating, because many times people’s mindsets, fears and cultures can be so strong that they will resist freedom. But it is not proof that God’s ways do not set people free; it is only proof that many people won’t try God’s ways.
Jesus said he came to set at liberty those that are bound. Very few immediately took Him up on His offer. But eventually many were set free by His life and ministry. Even today God may have set some of us free from some things. Others may not believe or understand when we try to share those truths with them. But we should still offer. Maybe someone will be brave enough to let God set them free.
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