Journal Entry // August 4, 2022
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (ESV)
2 Corinthians 3:17
Freedom… The Spirit brings freedom to the lives of those where he abides. What is this freedom that the Spirit brings? It is freedom from the slavery of sin. It is freedom from guilt and shame. Where the Spirit resides, there is now no condemnation for that person. The Spirit brings the glory of God to live in the hearts of men and women enabling them to say no to sin and yes to obedience. For this is truly the freedom of which is mentioned here. The freedom to obey the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Freedom to choose the good and reject the evil. Freedom to live a life of humility and obedience to the Lord. Freedom to love God and love people in righteousness and purity.
I often trip myself up when I think about the freedom that comes with the Spirit and a changed heart. I hear the word freedom and immediately begin to think, “This means I can do whatever I want.” I hear freedom and then think this means that I have the freedom to do as I please or more correctly whatever pleases me. This is as far from the meaning of freedom as I can get. This thinking is not freedom, but slavery. You can hear my pride in this thinking. You can hear my selfishness and my self-centeredness. This is sinful wayward thinking and not the thoughts of a man with a changed heart that the Spirit of God inhabits. Sin will never give up trying to lead me astray in this area. Sin will continually try to entice and deceive me to go back into slavery.
The Spirit now dwells in my heart and I am united with Christ. He has given me a new heart. A heart of flesh. A heart that has the veil lifted and can truly see the holy things of God. My desires, my passions, my motivations are all being transformed and aligned with the righteousness of Christ. This freedom allows me to serve Christ truly. This freedom allows me to emulate the character of my Savior. With the Spirit of freedom at work in me, I am being transformed daily into the image of Christ as I put into practice the holy things of God. As I reject sin and temptation. As I embrace the humble gentleness of Jesus.
Lord, thank you for this freedom. Thank you for removing the veil from my heart and eyes and enabling me to see the glory of Christ before me. Thank you for changing my heart. For continuing to change my heart. It is a precious gift that the Spirit dwells within me. It is amazing to know that I am united with Christ. That he and I are one together. Teach me to better understand this amazing truth. Teach me to think of Jesus all the time. Occupy my thoughts with my gently and humble Savior. Let this freedom of the Spirit cover me and enable me to serve you, to please you, and to simply love you.