Paul's Letters: Freedom

One thing that I have heard from people who are skeptical of Christianity (or organized religion in general) is that you have to rely on someone else to tell you what is right and wrong, and what to do.  Today's excerpt from Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 3) talks a little bit about this idea.


He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.


Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!  For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.  And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.



Judaism of its time was not a religion.  It was a faith, a tradition, a practice and a people (and still is).  The traditions of its culture were passed from generation to generation from Moses and before.  Part of this culture was the Law -- the instruction from God about how to behave, what to wear, how to prepare food, how to punish crimes, etc.  The Law was what set the Hebrew people apart from the rest of the world.  And it was through the Law that the Hebrew people communicated with God.

Paul is talking about how Moses for a time, when he read from the tablets and when he was in communion with God, was so brilliant that nobody could look directly at him.  This was the most direct contact the Jewish people could have with God.  Now he is saying that Jesus took away the veil that separated God from God's people.  Jesus took away the need for a stone tablet with laws, and instead wrote upon our very hearts.

Our relationship with Christ, should we choose it, is an intimate one.  It is not a set of rules.  It is not a public directive or requirement.  It is a relationship, a complete and intimate understanding that guides us through life out of love.

I don't know about you, but when I was little, telling me not to look somewhere made me want to look there. Like, "don't look in that closet, 'cause that's where we might be keeping the Christmas presents" was, to me, a direct invitation to look in that closet.  Rules and guidelines may be put in place to protect us, but they do not tie directly to our hearts and motivations.  They do not create a connection or allegiance to the one who creates the rules.  In fact, rules can even have the effect of separating us from the ones who make or enforce them.

I think I say this in every one of my posts -- nobody knows us like Christ.  Nobody knows how we are motivated, how we respond as human creatures more than the one who dwells inside every one of us.  Christ knows that nothing motivates us more than love.  Nothing holds onto us and guides us more than a desire to be loved.

If our relationship to our Creator is not founded on rules and tests, but is founded instead on love and acceptance, how do we respond?  We are completely FREE.  There is nothing that is out of our reach or impossible for us.  We are not barred by cages and kept on leashes, but are free to act from a perfect love that is offered to every heart, without restriction and without judgement or requirement.  There is no veil between us and the love of our God and that love is written on our hearts.

Some might argue that there need to be rules in order for us to live appropriately.  And in some ways, that is true.  Civil law certainly has its place.  But as people of faith, out of love of our God and love for every individual whom God has created, our mandate is to live and act from that place of love.