The Spirit Lives to Set Us Free

The first time I listened to this hymn was during a morning Mass at St. Joseph Kahawa Sukari in Nairobi, Kenya. At the time, the church was run by the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo. On that cold, solemn morning, I couldn’t help but reflect on what it means to live within the Spirit—let alone walk in the light. I was deep in my own thoughts and afflictions, troubled by the idea of man’s fallibility and wrestling with the question of whether—and more often, when—things would get better.

I have always desired complexity, a life beyond the superficial. For me, matters of faith have always required conviction; I’ve sought to move away from complacency. I’ve longed to live out my faith not because it is “trendy” or merely passed down from my family, but because I’ve made it my own. As I grow older, I find myself distancing from the more performative, outward expressions of faith.

Looking back at the hymn, The Spirit Lives to Set Us Free – Walk, Walk in the Light, I’m reminded of a more personal and intimate connection with Jesus. And if there is something I am eternally grateful for, it is the unending capacity of God’s love. As someone who has struggled for years with the idea of acceptance and belonging, I feel myself now drawing deeply from this grace—which I am constantly reminded is sufficient.

Incidentally, this reflection follows Paul’s own struggle with the “thorn in the flesh.” What a comforting idea it is—that one can still experience God’s love even in the midst of what seems like a bleak and dark abyss.

So in the midst of it all, I find it most comforting to lean into perhaps the greatest joy of being a Christian: God’s love. And nothing, apparently, can separate us from this love—so tender, so great, and so amazing.