You Will Be Free Indeed.

The Fourth of July is our national holiday set aside for the celebration of our great "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave"--and we honor it with parades, barbecues, Stars and Stripes, patriotic music, family, friends, and fireworks.

I spent most of my day yesterday looking out at this view...

...and making (and enjoying) American Flag pavlova...

...and thinking a lot about what it is that makes my America such a happy place to live and American freedom such an exciting thing to celebrate.

Those of you who know me well know that I care deeply about our nation. I am fascinated by its history, government, and politics. I felt a bit like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the first time I ever saw D.C.. I sometimes watch C-SPAN in my spare time. And I'm at college double-majoring in History and Education because I think I might like to spend the rest of my life educating, empowering, and investing in the lives of high school students who might be the next generation of leaders for this nation.

 

So, yes, I think America is pretty great. (Not that we don't have our flaws). I'm just really grateful that I get to be a part of a nation founded on ideals of liberty with a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

But this American liberty and these freedoms that we hold so dear, were not simply dreamed up by benevolent men and implemented for the sake of their fellow Americans. I firmly believe that God, (and not just any god, but the God of the Bible) was both the active orchestrator and the vital center point of American freedom:

In 1775, Patrick Henry made a call for colonists to trust God in their looming fight for independence: "There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."

In 1776, our Declaration of Independence made claims for freedom on the basis of "inalienable rights" that were "endowed by their Creator." 

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin both wanted the fight for American Independence to claim the motto: "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God." Instead, a more popular rallying cry of the Revolution rang out across the nation: that America would honor "No King but Jesus!"

Our freedoms exist because our government was founded on the idea that God intended for men to be free. In that sense, I firmly believe that our nation's freedom is only as sure as our reliance on God for His provision of it. So I long for godly leadership for America and pray that our nation will cling to Jesus as Lord.

And I find assurance in the knowledge that whatever the future may hold for my government, my America, and my political freedoms--my ultimate personal freedom is dependent on Jesus alone. And that freedom is freedom from the law of sin and death (which is even more exciting than freedom from tyranny if you ask me!).

"For the law of the Spirit has set you FREE from the law of sin and death."

Romans 8:2

"For FREEDOM in Christ has set you FREE; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1


"So if the Son sets you FREE you will be FREE indeed."
John 8:36

So I celebrate freedom, both the political freedom of our nation and the Gospel that forms the foundation of it.  And I rejoice that the glory of the Calvary offers the profound, awe-inspiring, all-encompassing freedom of new life in Jesus. The Son has set me free; I am free indeed.