No longer a slave...

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

This "freedom" has come up quite a few times over the past week and a half. What does it mean to experience freedom through the Spirit of the Lord? I was reading another verse last week and it said, "My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love." Galatians 5:13 NCV
Freedom. What does that word truly mean?

freedom noun free·​dom | \ ˈfrē-dəm: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous

Just in case you are like me and you didn't know what "onerous" meant, it means burdensome. The weight of sin is burdensome for sure. But what does the freedom that comes with the Spirit of the Lord truly look like in our lives. Freedom allows that weight to be lifted from us.

When you see the picture of the shattered window what is the first thought to cross your mind? "Oh that sucks"? Expensive? Anger? Frustration? This was the window of my Jeep two days ago. My husband came in to tell me that while he was edging the lawn, a rock must have hit the window.
I was a little bit at a loss for words. In fact, the only thing spinning through my mind was 'don't get angry it was an accident'. Manly because I would have felt bad in his shoes.

I took it one step at a time.

• I told my husband to finish edging the yard. The yard wasn't going to finish edging itself.
• I began vacuuming up the glass. I recognized that if I was in his shoes I would continue to beat myself up over the mistake while I cleaned it up. I didn't want him doing that. I wanted him to refocus.
• I called insurance. I realize that the first thing that we saw was money flying out of our bank account. That was a silly thing to worry about because we pay a monthly fee (car insurance) to cover things like this.

What's the point?

Being a Christian is about daily making a choice to plug into God, or as the Bible says pick up our cross. Do you think Jesus wanted to die on the cross for a bunch of sinners? I'm gonna go with, no, since he asked God multiple times to give him a different task (take this cup). But, he loved the Father so much that He wanted to see His will/His kingdom present here on earth. 
What shattered windows are popping up in your life to distract you from the freedom God has for you? In case you didn't get the metaphor, how are you handling the issues that arise in your life? Are you returning to default mode (sinful self) and trying to figure out everything on your own or switching things to freedom mode and putting your trust in God?
If your mode is not reflecting the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22&23 you can know that you've switched to default mode and rejected the freedom you should be living in.

God, this was one time that I turned to you and knew that things would go well. But there are so many, many, many times that I switch to default mode. Holy Spirit guide me. I don't want to live in default mode, never experiencing true freedom. I want to rejoice in the freedom that Jesus provided for me through His sacrifice. Remind me to approach situations in a new light. Approach situations with the example that Jesus set. Approach them in a way to make God's kingdom real and tangible to those watching. That onlookers would see a new way of living. Amen 

"But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25 NCV