Spiritual Freedom
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Cor. 3:17, RSV.
When you ask people to name the most spiritual person they know, you get an amazing array of answers. Some think of people in the Middle Ages who walked on cold floors with bare feet and made sure their stomachs were always growling. Those who admire this kind of individual have a dark suspicion that submitting to harsh circumstances and even cruel superiors must be very spiritual. Perhaps it’s because they think of God as harsh and cruel.
Others will suggest people who are quiet and gentle—pious individuals who never make quick moves or loud sounds and who certainly never do anything spontaneous or fun. Perhaps again their admirers worship a very uptight God.
But it’s clear this is not what Paul had in mind when he looked for the signs of a truly spiritual person. He knew that when the Lord’s Spirit touches the core of someone’s life, they discover freedom. Paul thought of people whose faces are brighter, whose steps are lighter, and who know a wonderful creativity and boldness as they face life.
We’re not talking about a reckless freedom, an irresponsible license to indulge hurtful desires. Rather we’re discussing freedom from the fear of rejection, freedom from the need to ask other people’s permission to forgive oneself. This is freedom to grasp life at a new level and grow in directions of one’s own choosing. It is freedom from the fears of failure that have haunted us since childhood and kept us from launching into life as a daring adventure. Such freedom taps our most creative juices and allows us to become the unique, one-of-a-kind persons God intends for us to be.
Jesus spent a lot of His ministry setting people free from the false notions about His Father taught by the religious establishment of the day. His fresh understanding of spirituality still lurks today on the edges of our souls, waiting to break us free! We must believe His words: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, RSV). That’s good news!
How is your spiritual health? What can you do to experience the freedom Jesus offers you?
When you ask people to name the most spiritual person they know, you get an amazing array of answers. Some think of people in the Middle Ages who walked on cold floors with bare feet and made sure their stomachs were always growling. Those who admire this kind of individual have a dark suspicion that submitting to harsh circumstances and even cruel superiors must be very spiritual. Perhaps it’s because they think of God as harsh and cruel.
Others will suggest people who are quiet and gentle—pious individuals who never make quick moves or loud sounds and who certainly never do anything spontaneous or fun. Perhaps again their admirers worship a very uptight God.
But it’s clear this is not what Paul had in mind when he looked for the signs of a truly spiritual person. He knew that when the Lord’s Spirit touches the core of someone’s life, they discover freedom. Paul thought of people whose faces are brighter, whose steps are lighter, and who know a wonderful creativity and boldness as they face life.
We’re not talking about a reckless freedom, an irresponsible license to indulge hurtful desires. Rather we’re discussing freedom from the fear of rejection, freedom from the need to ask other people’s permission to forgive oneself. This is freedom to grasp life at a new level and grow in directions of one’s own choosing. It is freedom from the fears of failure that have haunted us since childhood and kept us from launching into life as a daring adventure. Such freedom taps our most creative juices and allows us to become the unique, one-of-a-kind persons God intends for us to be.
Jesus spent a lot of His ministry setting people free from the false notions about His Father taught by the religious establishment of the day. His fresh understanding of spirituality still lurks today on the edges of our souls, waiting to break us free! We must believe His words: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, RSV). That’s good news!
How is your spiritual health? What can you do to experience the freedom Jesus offers you?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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