So, I'm sitting in this large conference room with the Bishop of Rwanda (the Rwandan President's right hand man, by the way) and instead of revealing the gut-wrenching facts regarding the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994 as I had somewhat anticipated, he instead turned to the audience and begins to speak of the incredible strides that are being made in a country once torn apart by ethnic violence and ages-old mistrust. But even more specific than what is being done to restore his country, he focused on how things are being done. Get ready for this one...
The Bishop revealed that the nation of Rwanda has decided to rebuild it's infrastructure, schools, churches, universities, etc., based specifically upon the cornerstone of the spirit of forgiveness that can only be experienced through the work of Christ in people's lives. Hutsies and Tutsies, now reconciled through the commonality of their faith in Jesus, is what is healing the nation of Rwanda. When you think of this implications of this, it's just staggering. The Bishop went on to say that the nation of Rwanda wants to prove to the entire world that through the love of Christ, that the worst of all possible human situations can be healed and fully restored-not through pacts or alliances or governmental intervention, but through confession, forgiveness and reconciliation-the kind Christ calls all believers to live out in their everyday lives.
One of the most often misquoted verses from the Bible is this: "...and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Most people read this and think, "...well, if we just find the facts of the case, then we can fix things..." Or to put in another way: the facts will free us...right?
To read this verse in this way is to entirely miss the point of this text, not to mention that it must lifted out of it's context to read it in this way. Sure facts, are important, but the word "truth" here means something a little different.
Here's the whole passage:
"So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free...they answered him...'how is it that you say you will become free?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin...So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.""
I guess, then, it could be boiled down to this:
Abiding in Christ = Knowledge of Truth.
Truth = Jesus.
Jesus = Freedom.
You see, it's not facts that set us free. It's Jesus. If we know and "abide" in him, we are free. Free from sin. Free from slavery. Free from hate. And perhaps most importantly, especially for a broken people such as the Rwandans...
...free to love.
