A True Independence Day

John 8:36 reads, “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

This past week we celebrated Independence Day. For Americans, it should be a day that reminds us of how fortunate we are. We see in the news daily oppressive governments crushing the rights and lives of their enemies, and even their own citizens. So many people cry for liberty. Someone reading this article today may even have had his or her freedom taken away, probably rightfully so. Though some may have spent some time behind bars, they knew that there was a day ahead when they would regain their freedom. Liberty never looks so sweet as it does when you do not possess it.

Since man’s earliest history, people have been ruled by one form of government or another; a group of men ready to impose their will upon others. Sometimes they ruled in the belief, right or wrong, that they knew best for their fellow men. When they were right, their imposed will could be a blessing, lifting others out of lives of poverty, disease, and despair. When men desire to govern others with right motives, much good can be accomplished, as President Lincoln emancipating enslaved people. However, with wrong motives, rulers suppress the hopes, dreams and well-being of their constituents, as can be seen around the world today.

America was born with the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our founding fathers longed for freedom from a repressive government, particularly in the area of religion. These were men of different religious outlooks, but they had a burning desire to live where they were free to worship God as they saw fit. Many of our most important documents, as early as the Declaration of Independence, were framed around their love of God. “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” And even more recently, Eisenhower added, ‘One nation under God’ to the Pledge of Allegiance. ‘One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ Not above, not even alongside. But under. Separation of church and state is a ‘hot’ issue today. Our founding fathers’ aim was to keep the state from interfering with religion, not vice versa. As our society has turned from a belief in God, what a box of worms this has become.

When I attended elementary school, we started the day by reciting the 23rd Psalm and the Pledge of Allegiance. Church and state. In school. What were we thinking? Today the ten commandments can NOT be displayed in public schools. Evolution is taught from early on, but Creation by a loving God cannot be mentioned. Prayer is rarely allowed. Separation of church and state. What that means today is that belief in God, in His Bible, in the creation story, in prayer, in anything concerning love and worship of God, is being slowly removed by the state in the name of separation. The irony in all of this is that our founders were not concerned about God being in the State. They firmly implanted Him there by the wording of our greatest and most loved documents. What they did not want was the State sticking its nose into their religion. They left religious repression behind. They wanted one Nation, under God. Under God.

It seems that anytime man is left to his own devices long enough, things begin to sour. Our country is only a couple of hundred years old, yet, here we are, seemingly drifting back towards the religious repression our country was founded to end. Today, it is the state squelching the free practice of religion in public or the government. It could be funny, if it were not such a sad statement concerning the hearts of Men.

I know no one likes pessimism. Neither do I. But I have some bad news. Oppression will never end as long as man is ruling this earth. If the world as we know it ends tomorrow, or five hundred years from now, people will still be resisting the will of God. And they will still dislike, even despise, those who so gladly submit to God’s Word.

So, what is the appropriate way to celebrate Independence Day? By getting drunk, firing off fireworks, and gorging ourselves on barbecued whatever? How about this? Why don’t we celebrate the independence of our “one nation” by staying “under God”. No one can prove that our country is loved or blessed more by God than any other, but I personally feel that we are. As a nation, we have been especially blessed by God when we followed His laws. When Israel stayed under God, He watched over them. This nation was founded “under God,” and I believe He has blessed us for it.

Every one of us wants the liberty to be self-governing. Even from childhood, we press for greater freedoms. We can rule ourselves, as long as our personal freedoms are “under God.” Even better than that, when we are free in Christ, no one can enslave our souls any longer. Nothing can rule over our hearts and minds. You can lock me up, but I can be as happy as I choose wherever I am. You cannot jail my spirit. You can kill those I love, but in Christ, we will reunite. You can kill me, but in Christ I can even find comfort there.

“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Never has there been a truer statement. Never has there been a more comforting statement. When Christ has freed you, there is no force in this world that can take that away from you. When Christ has freed you, it is of little matter where you live, or how well you live. When Christ has freed you the things of this world become less and less important. Who cares if I am in jail when heaven awaits me? Why should I be depressed about a body that is slowly getting weaker and older when there is a new one that awaits me? Why should I fret about money when I shall have everything I need and more in my next life?

My next life. It has a ‘science fiction’ ring to it, but there is nothing fictional about it. Christ has set me free. The bindings of this life cannot hold me. The governments of this world are only temporarily in charge. I submit to them as long as they are “under God.” I am one man, under God, indivisible, filled with the liberty and justice available to all through the freedom of Christ.

Celebrate freedom as if you have never celebrated it before. True freedom. Yours forever. In Christ.

(All scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible.)