When I was growing up, the expression, “I give you my word,” was more than just a quaint remnant of the Victorian era. It meant something. our “word” implied that what you said was proof enough. Your “word” needed no more evidence, nothing more was needed, because “your word was your honor,” as our parents taught us. Your “word” carried with it the full weight of your integrity and honesty.
In the Gospel our Lord says, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth” (John 8:31). Here the “word” takes on added significance because He is the “Word.” In the same statement about word and knowing the truth, He appends this magnificent teaching: “[A]nd you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). What is the deeper meaning here? What is this “truth” and from what will it “free” us?
Remaining in our Lord’s word means you remain in Him. The truth is in Him. And that truth sets us free from sin. “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). In our Lord is freedom. A person enslaved, because what else is one “who commits sin,” cannot “remain in a household forever, but a son always remains” (John 8:35). The “son” frees us from enslavement. “So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free” (John 8:36). The Son gives us His Word—which is Himself—and invites us into the household of the Father. In Him we know the Truth, and the Truth sets us free. Through Him we become adopted sons and daughters. In the words of St. Paul, “So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God” (Galatians 4:7). Lord come with Your Word and Truth, let us live with You, and set us free from sin!