Independence

INDEPENDENCE

    This weekend we are celebrating our Independence Day.  July 4th has become one of the most celebrated days in our country.  We are celebrating freedom.  We are celebrating America.

    Many of us will use the day to just relax and do nothing.  Others will have Bar-B-Q and the trimmings with family and friends.  Some may choose to go fishing, work in the yard, or a thousand other  things.  We do enjoy our independence.

However, there are times we need to be dependent.  When we are sick we depend on the doctor, nurse, or a loved one to care for us. Children are dependent on their parents and other adults for their physical and mental development.  Whether we admit it or not, we are all dependent on God.  He gives us the sunshine, the rain, the plants, the animals, and all the other wonders of His created world. None of these are the works of man’s hands.  In some things we will never be independent.

Our independence is in jeopardy when we abuse our freedom.  Many have come to believe that freedom means they can do as they choose no matter who gets in the way or what the consequences may be.  We are seeing that mindset across the land today.

The Christian has been set free from sin by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.  However, our freedom in Christ doesn’t set us free from dependence and submission to the will of God.  Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”  Those who abuse their freedom will eventually lose it.

While we enjoy our independence as Americans and as Christians, let’s not forget that in some things we will never be independent.