Freedom

 2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV

 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 


I was chatting with a work colleague about freedom. I said I'd rather be poor and free in the West than a rich slave in the East. My colleague pressed me on the definition of freedom and I acknowledged that freedom is primarily internal, not external. 

As the Apostle Paul says elsewhere, there's no laws against the fruit of the Spirit. It's never going to be illegal to be loving, joyful and peaceful etc. We're always free to live for the glory of God.

A slave in the Roman Empire could be spiritually free by trusting in the Lord. Even if his body was chained, his soul and spirit would be free. Even Paul himself was imprisoned by the Romans, but he remained spiritually free.

I'm reminded of the rhyme 'two men in a prison, looking through bars/ one sees mud; the other sees stars'. There's a lot to be said for a positive perspective on life. We're not just to focus on the mud and mire of life; we're to see the beauty even in difficult circumstances.

'Sovereign Lord, we're thankful for the freedom we enjoy in you. May we keep in step with your Spirit, for your honour and praise we pray, amen'.

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