Read: 2 Corinthians 3:12–18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
When the apostle Paul was talking about freedom, he was not talking about the ability to do as we please. He wasn’t extolling the virtues of a free society or the blessing of self-determination. Paul was talking about being freed from sin, oppressive religious laws, and death. Paul’s view of freedom wasn’t merely about being freed from something but rather being freed for someone. Jesus Christ—our Lord—offers us freedom from the bondages of sin and death so that we can live and love and give ourselves to others for the good of all. The Spirit of Jesus has nothing to do with the freedom to do as we wish. Being free in the Spirit means being free from our sinful and selfish desires so that we can offer ourselves to the world in the same transformative ways Jesus did. To be free in Christ means to be called to others. We are freed from sin so that we are freed up for service.
What does freedom mean to you?
Lord, freedom has become a bumper sticker slogan in our culture. Freedom has become an idol that we worship in our society. We believe freedom is our right, and a right that permits us to do as we please as long as we don’t injure others too badly. But the freedom You offer us is not a freedom from obligation but a freedom for service. There is indeed a cost to freedom . . . It requires me to conform to the ways of the one who offers it to me—Jesus Christ, our Lord . . . in whose name, I pray. AMEN.