“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17
Today is Maundy Thursday, the somber day within Holy Week in which we remember the events of that dark night when Jesus ate His final Passover meal with His disciples, predicted they would abandon Him and pretend they didn’t know Him, prayed in deep distress in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was betrayed by one of His own. This is a dark day, brightened only by our knowledge of why Jesus went through all that – to set us free!
As Jesus explained at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” Jesus went through the ordeal of the Garden and the cross to establish a new covenant between Holy God and sinful mankind. This new covenant wasn’t based on laws, rules, and heavy discipline. This was a covenant of grace, by which Jesus suffered and we enjoy the benefits, being set free. When we believe and make Jesus Lord of our life, the Spirit of God enters us and we’re set free.
In Christ, we’re set free from guilt. We’re set free from shame. We’re set free from the lasting power of death. We’re set free from loneliness and isolation from God. We’re set free from condemnation. We’re set free from having to make ourselves right, good, or acceptable. Christ makes us right, good, and acceptable to God. In Christ, we’re free to follow God and be transformed into the character of Jesus. We’re free to love and serve the Lord with joy rather than guilt and fear.
Our forgiveness is given as a gift of grace, not something we earn. God’s love for us is given as a gift of grace, not something we earn. God’s Spirit is given as a gift of grace, not something we earn. In this there is true freedom!