JOHN 8: 27-30; 31-36

Jesus was a human just like us. He knew the sufferings had a purpose; he was sent with a
mission; he was tempted.

TRUTH
Worship in Spirit and truth; the truth will set you free; Spirit of truth
Freedom is only freedom from sin, not freedom from any person.
Make my word your home – This is how you’ll know the truth. Meditating on the Word,
spending time with God
The reason we find freedom in these “rules” is because that’s what we were made for. It’s not
about what we want to do. It’s about finding fullness of life as God intended it.

WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?

We are here on earth in order to know and to love God, to do good according to his will,
and to go someday to heaven. [1-3, 358]
To be a human being means to come from God and to go to God. Our origin goes back farther
than our parents. We come from God, in whom all the happiness of heaven and earth is at home,
and we are expected in his everlasting, infinite blessedness. Meanwhile we live on this earth.
Sometimes we feel that our Creator is near; often we feel nothing at all. So that we might find the
way home, God sent us his Son, who freed us from sin, delivers us from all evil, and leads us
unerringly into true life. He is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6)

There are four types of people:

 Vicious – bad desires; follow through with them; following their conscience but no peace
 Weak-willed – bad desires; knows the right thing; does the wrong thing
 Continent – bad desires; knows the right thing; does the right thing
 Virtuous – good desires; knows the right thing; does the right thing
We strive to be virtuous where our desires and our actions are in communion with each other.
The closer we go to God and the more we control our desires, we are able to work towards true
virtue. This split occurs because of original sin. There is a divide between our spirit and our
flesh.

What does it mean to live a life for God? Surrender our will to His. Live to love and serve and
grow closer to Him?
Why live a life for God? That is what we were made for. Our purpose is to be fully united with
Jesus and He continuously calls us to Himself. His love for us is greater than we could imagine.
Nothing will ever be able to satisfy us like His love. He did so much for us to have the
opportunity to be one with Him, despite original sin and our many sins. He emptied Himself of
equality with the Father and became a man. He gave Himself up on the cross. He sent us His
Spirit. He gave us His mother. He comes to us in the form of bread.

HOW DO WE LIVE A LIFE FOR GOD?

 Every decision and action we take must be for the greater glory of God
o Immediate gratification or our own desires do not drive us
 Our goal must be everlasting life in heaven, not any earthly accomplishments
o Enter through the narrow gate
 Set your heart on the things above. Make Jesus your desire
o For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 
o But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will
be added to you
o Read Colossians 3 (Seek the things that are above)

 PRAY – Ask Jesus to help us

o John 14: Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can
we know the way?”
o We don’t have to find the way ourselves; we depend on Him to lead us
o He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE
o He sent His Holy Spirit to lead us
o He gave us his mother to help us
o You can talk to God at any time; develop a relationship
 Fill your mind with things of God; surround yourself with things that will bring you
closer to God
o Company is important; music; shows; what you read
o These things help you to become open to God; they let Him work in you
o They help you to know God; they teach you who God is
 Praise God in all things – It helps you to see things with your spiritual eyes
o He is always good
o Trust that He works all things out for our good
 Spend time in the Word
 Depend on the sacraments of the Church
o Go to confession
o Take holy Communion often
o Spend time in the physical presence of Jesus