Have you ever met someone who always seem full of life? So filled with the Spirit of God!  They’re so positive and upbeat, and always have something kind to say and a smile to share. I know someone like that, and her name is Antoinette.

One day when Antoinette called to invite us out, I greeted her by saying, “How is sweet Antoinette?” To which she answered, “I don’t know how sweet I am today.” Now I gotta tell you, Antoinette is ALWAYS friendly, smiling and thoughtful – one of those people whose smile is contagious.

So, I asked Antoinette, “How on earth could you ever say you aren’t sweet?” She replied, “Well, you’ve never lived inside my head. Trust me, I’m not always sweet.” Isn’t it funny how so many of us can be thrown off course by something as small as a bad dream, an achy back or a dark thought? Everything may appear fine on the outside, but our minds can hold plenty of darkness and despair.

The apostle Paul, who wrote half the New Testament, must’ve felt the same way as he wrestled with himself. In his own words he said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do” (Rom 7:15 NIV).

Wow – Paul sounds just like me. I want to be more generous, but I’m mostly worried about myself. And I hate it when I get angry or raise my voice, but I struggle so much to stop that behavior. It sure is easy for me to become disappointed with who I am, how I act and what I think.

No one knows what sins or shortcomings plagued Paul, but he continues on to write: “For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do” (Rom 7:19).

So, just like Antoinette, just like me, and probably just like you, Paul cries out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me?” (Rom 7:24)

Yes! Who will rescue us indeed? Who will save me from. . . me? Who can give me life and free me from the deadly thoughts which can plague my mind?

And with that climactic tone – like a musical crescendo – we hear the power in Paul’s words as he concludes, “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 7:25)! And the crescendo continues: “And because you belong to Jesus, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin” (Rom 8:2 NLT).

There it is! Because we belong to Jesus, the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of God gets to live inside us and fills us with his love, his sweetness and his fullness! Thus, we smile. Thus, we are encouraged, and we in-turn love to encourage others. We find hope and a love for life, not because everything is right in the world, but because everything is right between us and God. Instead of bearing the burden of our sins and the world’s darkness, we place it all back in God’s hands and he frees us with his power.

Yes – Let’s celebrate life right now! We have been set free! Like Antoinette, we can share sweetness and smiles all around. And better yet, we never need to “pretend” to be full of life or our own tiny bit of sweetness, because it is the Spirit of God, the life-giving Spirit that has freed us and fills us. All because we belong to Jesus, God’s sweetness lives inside of us!