Freedom!

2 Corinthians 3:17  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

My very first full-time position as a youth pastor was in San Pedro, CA. The Senior Pastor was very strict about office times. I had to be in the office at a certain time, and I had to leave at a certain time. No exceptions. Even if I had a ministry event that evening, I was still expected to do my full office time. I found myself working only those times, and not a minute more.

My next youth ministry position was in El Cajon, CA. The Senior Pastor there had a much broader idea about time. To him, there were three four hour blocks of time each day. Just fill two of them. I found myself working more than the two blocks most of the time. I had flourished under the freedom the pastor afforded me.

Our reading today talks about the difference between the Old Testament law and the new freedom Christ gives us. In the Old Testament, the spirit of God was in the Tabernacle. In the New Testament, the Spirit of the Lord is within us, and that gives us freedom.

We have the freedom to go to the Father with our sins and be forgiven, because Jesus took our place.

We have the freedom to live a new life, unshackled from the sin and degradation the world calls freedom, but is actually bondage.

We are made new, and our lives can, and should, reflect the new life Christ has given us. That is total freedom, and it is our right as followers of Jesus!

Today’s Readings:  Judges 17,18; Psalm 89; 2 Corinthians 3