“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I don no want to do- this I keep on doing.”- Romans 8:18-19
As John Ortberg continues Chapter 12 of Soul Keeping, he states that while freedom from external constraints appeals to everyone, that isn’t the freedom the soul needs. Yet, external restraints aren’t the only thing restricting our freedom. The brokenness, weakness, or dividedness inside us is an internal reality that limits our freedom.
Pastor Ortberg emphasizes that this lack of internal freedom is much more dehumanizing and tragic than external constraints:
“If our will is enslaved to our appetites, if our thoughts are obsessed with unfulfilled desires, if our emotions are slaves to our circumstances, if our bodily habits contradict our professed values, the soul is not free. The only way for the soul to be free is for all the parts of our personhood to be rightly ordered.”
Internal freedom, John concludes is precious. It is “soul- freedom.” The freedom the soul needs is the freedom to become the person God designed me to be.
Today’s question: At this stage of your transitional journey, are you focused more on external or internal freedom? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Walk about in freedom”
