Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow American readers and followers! And of course, a big hello to those from other countries who are reading this post. I’m so glad you’re here 🙂 Today is a celebration of summer, the birth of America, and more importantly, of freedom.
When it comes to the word freedom, many images come to our minds. We picture fireworks and family cookouts. We see soldiers sacrificing everything, including their lives, in order to protect our country.
While all of these images are beautiful and accurate for the American Independence Day, true freedom goes beyond even our patriotic celebrations. In order to understand what freedom really looks like, we must know the God who paid the price for our liberty.
A State of Bondage
Whether we realize it or not, we are in bondage. This world is full of sin and its consequences. We are lying to ourselves when we say we’re not in bondage.
Things like hatred, violence, jealousy, selfishness, lust, addiction, abuse, and shame fill our lives. No one is left unaffected by sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8 NIV)
This sin stems from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Almost everyone knows the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Although it may seem like some cute ancient Bible story, the consequences of mankind’s first rebellion still affect us all today.
No one is perfect, and we all fall short of God’s standard for holiness. We must realize the state of our sin and the eternal separation it places between us and the Lord. Once we know how sinful we are, we can truly repent and make a change in our lives.
The Price of Freedom
Okay, so now we understand that we are in bondage to sin and shame. We also know to repent, but how do we experience freedom? What must we do to free ourselves from sin?
The bad news is that there is nothing you can do to free yourself from sin. Remember when I said that we will never be perfect? But that’s okay, I have great news!
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24 NIV)
The price to pay for sin and eternal separation from God is through death. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the ransom for all of the world’s sins by dying on the cross and rising again.
It is finished, lovely one. Jesus paid the price once and for all, and the only thing we need to do is turn to Him and accept this precious gift.
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Spirit of Freedom
Although we were once slaves to sin and shame, Jesus freed us by His death and resurrection. How amazing is it to know that we can experience true freedom even in the midst of living in a sinful world?
When we choose to follow Christ, we are no longer slaves, but children of God. We have a perfect Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally and wants to watch us walk in freedom.
We are no longer separated from God, but have His Holy Spirit inside of us to empower and guide us. Instead of a spirit of slavery, we now have God’s Spirit of freedom!
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:6-7 NIV)
Today is a great day, lovely one. It’s a day of celebration for the joys of freedom. Will you choose the eternal joy of the only true freedom found in Jesus?
Happy Independence Day and thank you for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
FearfullyWonderfullyMe would like to thank all military members for their service in protecting our freedom. God bless America!
(Photography by Cristian Escobar and Toa Heftiba)
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