Rev. Dr. Colleen Derr

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life….Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold….whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Cor 3:3-6,12,16-18, NLT).

What a week to reflect on freedom. On Monday, we spent the day in remembrance of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his call to peace, love, and justice. A message we need to hear and embrace again. (If you haven’t watched IWU’s MLK celebration featuring Wesley alumni and Kwasi – you’ll want to do that this week!) And, of course, today we look to the beginning of a new chapter for this nation, praying for a peaceful transition.

The freedom Paul speaks of in this passage, is not from a won election or even a peaceful march that stirred us to consideration and action; this freedom is from the Spirit of the Lord. And we, who are called to be “more and more like him” are instruments of freedom - as Dr. King was. But how do we live our lives so they do reflect freedom? We don’t have the platform of MLK, for most of us our lives consist of every day typical moments rather than monumental with a global audience.

I’ve been asked by The Wesleyan Church’s publishing house to help them produce at least two books on my father’s sermons – his life work. It has already been an incredible journey reading through a portion of my father’s 1500+ original manuscripts. As I was reflecting on this passage, I came across one dad preached from this passage (I Cor. 3:1-18) entitled “Finishing Well”. In it I see insights for us on how to live well.

Three things for us to consider on living well – serving well – leading well:

• First, “our qualifications come from God” (v. 5). Our qualification for service, work, and leadership is not of our own making because of our incredible talent or wisdom rather “our qualifications come from God” – what a helpful reminder. And it is not a single distribution of qualification to last a lifetime but rather a continual flow of “qualifying” or “sufficiency” in light of our relationship with the Lord. How do we continue to live, serve, and lead well? We have to maintain our constant, ever-abiding relationship with the Lord through the Spirit; and he will continue to qualify us for the work he has called us to do! There is freedom found in his sufficiency.

• Second, we recognize that the work we do – no matter how grand or minor, is eternal (vss. 6-12)…even a cup of cold water given in his name. “Our Christian lives and our Christian work have the mark of imperishability upon them” (ELW). Do we face our work with the recognition that it is the Lord’s – that it “has the stuff of eternity in it”? What difference does that make in our approach to the tasks on our calendar – even the everyday things? There is freedom in seeing even the routine as extraordinary.

• Third, “vision is a video” – it is constantly expanding and becoming clearer as the Spirit makes us “more and more like him and we are changed into his glorious image” (v. 18). Our vision is expanded and clarified – our vision for our work, our lives, our service. There is freedom in knowing his work in us and through us is evolving and expanding as we allow the Spirit to do his work in us.

We are called to live well – to serve well – to lead well. I am honored to serve beside each of you. I am amazed at the work you do for the sake of the Kingdom through your investment in Wesley and her students. The ripple impact of what you may see as just one small “cup of cold water given” is beyond what we can imagine when put in light of eternity. And this freedom that has come to us through the Spirit of the Lord, allows us to embrace our work – our calling – our tasks and in doing so help others to see more clearly as well: “The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life….Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold” (v. 12)!Freedom to be bold!

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Embrace your freedom in him and embrace your freedom for him and in his name sake.

Embrace your freedom and be bold!