Hope And Freedom In The Spirit

"Today's Devotion" For November 26, 2005

Read: II Corinthians 3:7-18; Psalm 118:1-18

HOPE AND FREEDOM IN THE SPIRIT

"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold...and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." (II Cor. 3:13, 17b)

Most of us are familiar with the game show, "Let's Make A Deal." One of the more popular aspects of that show is choosing a "door" behind which there are potentially valuable prizes. Of course, there's always the chance that there will only be what could be described as a "booby prize," a prize that's quite useless and valueless. Nevertheless, people seem to relish the challenge and mystery of the doors and eagerly "make a deal" to get the door of their "dreams." An earlier version of "Let's Make A Deal" is described in an old Persian tale. The tale recounts how a Persian Army general would offer condemned prisoners a choice - the firing squad they had been sentenced to or what was behind a door. No one except the general knew what lay behind the door, yet most of the condemned chose the firing squad. It seems they had lost all hope and, fearing that behind the door lay torture and prolonged agony, they chose what they knew instead of what they didn't know.

This tale would just another tale brought to us over history if it weren't for an early English writer who was visiting Persia a couple of hundred years ago. When this writer heard the tale he was curious. Seeking out the general he asked him what was behind the door. The general responded, "Freedom, and I've met very few brave enough to choose it." When people lose all hope, they lose any chance at being free. When people are willing to face death rather than hope for something better, they resign themselves to missing out on all the potential life can bring. To let fear and death overpower our lives is to ignore the freedom that is offered to all humanity through Jesus Christ.

Hope and freedom go hand in hand. Hope overcomes despair, of which there is much in our world. Hope opens our eyes to the possibility of being free to be everything we can be, to make our own plans, pursue our own dreams, and to seek our own "fortunes." Yet, because of the power of Sin in the world, people are more apt to despair than hope; more apt to be enslaved to the "inevitability" of death, than to live in the freedom that comes from God's love in Jesus Christ. Like the condemned prisoners of our tale, too many people are afraid to take the risk to be free in Jesus - to be at odds with the world but in harmony with God. It requires the courage of faith to face death, knowing that dying in Christ is but the beginning of eternity with Him. Hope does not disappoint, according to the Scriptures, but it brings peace and joy into our lives.

When we live in the hope and freedom that comes from God's Spirit through faith in Jesus, we're not overcome by the power of Sin and Death in the world. We lose our fear of what anyone might do to us, because nothing can separate us from God's love. We have been made God's own people in Christ. He has washed us clean from our sins so that death no longer has any power over us. Jesus Himself has taken on the agony of Sin and eternal Death for us so that we might have hope and freedom by His blood. As we face Satan's "firing squad" as "condemned prisoners" of Sin, and we are offered "what's behind the door," rest assured that Jesus and His forgiveness, love, grace, and mercy is behind that door to lead us to freedom from Sin, Death, and the power of the devil. Take courage dear Christian, have hope and be at peace. Jesus has won our freedom and by the power of His Spirit we have hope.

Prayer: Father, thank You for being so patient with me and for giving me hope in Christ. Help me to never lose the freedom Your Spirit brings into my heart and life. Guide me to live in the hope and freedom the Spirit gives me by faith in Jesus so that I might be a living example of Your grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness in Christ. Give me the courage to always take a "chance" on every door of opportunity You present to me, because each "door" is an opportunity to live out the hope and freedom You give me in the Spirit so that I might be a faithful witness of Your love and forgiveness to all the world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
***************************

--Pastor Boeck

Copyright ©2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.