Jesus used his freedom to do what was best for others, and Jesus actually brings a greater freedom into our life by showing us the best way to live. Some might ask how aligning our life with God’s Spirit could make us more free. Isn’t that being restrictive? How can that be freeing? That’s a reasonable question.
First of all, freer does not mean easier. What makes us free is what leads us to a more authentic, loving, God-like life, and sometimes the drive to be truly free and to live a truly good life involves struggle. We make sacrifices. We’ve all been there.
The world tuned in to the Super Bowl last Sunday, and a football image comes to mind in talking about freedom. Football plays are tightly scripted. Everybody has a role to play. If you’re a running back, your best chance of gaining yards is to follow your blockers. They are clearing the way for you. So you do have some constraints as to how you act on a given play, but following those constraints is most often the best way for you to succeed.
As Catholics we have the constraints of the ten commandments and church teachings, and these are meant not to limit us but to help us to be free to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit—the divine blocker we get behind, who leads us to a fuller life, a freer life, a life that embraces all of God’s creation.
“Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight his paths.” (Luke 3:4)
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