SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Getting started reading the Bible can be a challenge. So, we’ve gathered some good Bible verses to reflect on through simple Bible devotions like this one. Get started with reading the Bible and learning how to connect with God!
How to Find Freedom
For anyone feeling the pressure to perform for God’s acceptance, we’re reminded by Hannah that faith brings freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
“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.”
Written by Hannah Shoue
I recently saw a movie where a father and son discuss how the son will eventually take over a position of power from his father. The son expresses he isn’t sure he wants it. Rather than lecture the son about duty, the father responds along the lines of, “I felt the same way when I was your age. But know this: whether you choose to take my place or not, you’re already all I’ve ever wanted you to be: My son.”
After the movie, this short scene between father and son stayed with me. In my Christian walk, I find it easy to get caught up in what I “should” be doing. I feel like I should be sharing about Jesus more often with others, I should be serving at church or volunteering in the community more, I should be practicing repentance, or fasting, or [insert spiritual discipline here] more. And while those are all good things to do, I often forget that in Christ, I am free.
I believe that God is like the father in the movie I watched. God is looking at me with more love than I can possibly imagine, and God’s love is not contingent on any of the things I think I should do–as my pastor recently stated, we are human beings, not human doings. Simply being with God as His child is all God has ever wanted me to be. And it is God (verse 18), not me, that glorifies himself in me through transforming me to be more like him. That is true freedom.
Why It Matters
Is “freedom” a word you associate with your Christian faith? Or, do you find your faith to be more about following rules, rife with guilt that you have disappointed God? What would it look like for you to find freedom in faith? Have the courage to forgive yourself as you have been forgiven and take hold of freedom in Christ, glorifying God in the small things and big things each day.
Looking for more simple devotions to help you connect with God? Click here to see our stash of short Christian devotions written by everyday Christian writers.