This morning I poured water into a small kettle, brought it to a boil and added oatmeal.  Five minutes later I spooned it into a bowl with flowers on it and proceeded to choose my condiments.  I picked up the salt shaker and added a few shakes.  I opened the fridge and reached for the cream and bottle of pure maple syrup.  I love cream and maple syrup on my oatmeal, but thinking of my health I limited myself to a small splash of each.  I ate a few bites and decided it just wasn’t worth eating unless I poured on a generous helping of cream and an even more generous amount of maple syrup.  I sat down once again and truly enjoyed every bite of maple syrup and cream with my oatmeal.

I think my actions and life in general might be a little more palatable to others if I just added a gallon or so of sweetness to my actions rather than a stingy little dab.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  (Galatians 5:22)  If you stop to think about it fruit is sweet, so we could look at this text and say that the fruit of the Spirit in our lives will provide the sweetness of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This morning Aspen requested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.   A couple of hours later she asked for a completely different breakfast while her sandwich laid untouched on the plate.  I told her I would not fix her anything else until she ate at least part of the sandwich.  Shortly after that she brightly ran up to me and told me she had eaten her sandwich.  I said, “No you didn’t.  Where is the sandwich?”  She sweetly replied while rubbing her belly,  “In my tummy”.  I glanced over at the kitchen trash can and noticed that the previously open lid was now closed.  I knew that I hadn’t closed the lid and that it was highly unlikely that either her father or older brother had bothered to close it. Now having  raised to adulthood three other children, and having worked with teenagers for six years I quickly deduced that she had thrown away the sandwich and closed the lid to hide the evidence.  Feeling like Sherlock Holmes I walked over to the trash can and opened the lid.  There lying on top of all the other trash was the evidence.  The uneaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

I am reminded of the text found in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  When I opened the trash can lid I revealed the truth.  When the Holy Spirit shines his light of truth on the sinfulness of my heart, I have the opportunity to choose to admit my fault and live once again in the freedom of truth. The freedom to call God, “Abba, Father”.  No man is truly free, but he in whose heart the power of sin is destroyed, and who has received the Spirit of adoption, through which he cries, Abba! Father! (Romans 8:15)  Christ in the gospel offers us freedom, He has power to do this, and those who Christ makes free are free indeed.  (John 8:36)