Liberty- One of the keywords of our world. People are thirsty of liberty, people hate liberty. People die and kill because of liberty. Only, the ideas on what liberty is, are very different. The apostle Paul offers his own approach to this notion. For him, unlike very many, the purport is not from what we are freed, but for what. If the purpose consists of widening the possibilities "to satisfy oneself needs ", then it is not liberty, but the continuation of sin slavery. The exit from slavery is the refusal of egoism, the service of another. So liberty is the realization and the enlargement of the possibility to love, just as God loves us.

What stands out most in the account of the Savior’s temptation in the wilderness is Satan’s powerlessness. The temptations to which we so easily fall victim prove insignificant to Christ. The Savior rejects putting one’s own interests first—ultimately, the interests of one’s own stomach—by saying that the true source of life for a human being is the Word of God. He rejects the thirst for power that consumes people regardless of era or culture by pointing to God’s unassailable sovereignty over creation. When invited to use the Creator magically as an instrument, the Savior responds by showing reverence for the holiness of the Almighty.

The apostle Paul will say that Christ is the new Adam. The renewal of the human race in Christ consists above all in this: His faith and faithfulness to the Father prove stronger and more important than temptations, which appear petty and empty before Him. His victory over darkness begins from the very moment Christ refuses to yield to temptation.

The word “repentance” has become familiar to us. We repent simply because we are supposed to. We repent of many sins, but does our life change as a result? If we bear no fruits of repentance, we may safely apply to ourselves the Baptist’s words about a “brood of vipers” and the “axe laid to the root of the trees.” It is clear what fruits tax collectors and soldiers should bear. But what if we belong to neither group? What are we to do?

To understand this, we need to work seriously on ourselves, pay attention to our lives, and resolve to live differently. Then the possibility opens before us of being baptized with the Spirit and fire and of following the beloved Son, and we may hope to hear the cherished words: “In you I am well pleased!”