For Freedom

             Today, beaches are packed and lakes are crowded with star spangled citizens. Jean shorts are painted red white and blue, sleeves are cut off of tacky t-shirts, and coolers are packed for the day’s activities. We Americans love to celebrate freedom. We post facebook statuses thanking the men and women who have fought for our freedom and we glorify the nation that was birthed 236 years ago.

What about the one man who gave his life for our freedom? What about glorifying God, the author of life and of liberty?

On July 4^th, 1776, The United States was declared independent from Great Britain and we were free to establish democracy. But, in the year 33, you were declared free. YOU WERE DECLARED FREE because Jesus died for you that day in Calvary. He paved the way for you to have a personal and real relationship with God.

When you accept and believe that this is true, when you decide to rely on God, you are free. Free from sin, free from guilt, free from bad habits, free from insecurities, free from inadequacies. Because of Jesus (and only Jesus!) you are perfect, you are innocent, your bad habits are broken, you are confident and powerful, you are completely qualified.

One of the hardest things for me to believe is that I am really free. I have a difficult time thinking that I am a new and different person. It’s tough to realize that Jesus did change me, that he is changing me, and he will continue to change me…Romans 6 has helped me understand the truth. Verses 6 and 7 tell us, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him (Jesus) so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin”

If you feel chained by guilt, if you are struggling with something that you can’t handle anymore, or even if you can’t kick your bad habit of biting your nails, read Romans 6. Ask God to change you. About 14 months ago, I sat on the ground and prayed that God would change me. I listed out every single thing that I hated about myself and that I wanted him to change. He has opened my eyes to so much. He has done incredible things in my life, and will continue to. In the moments when I don’t believe it, I have to remember what God has done, turn to Romans 6, and continue to trust him.

So, please glorify Jesus today, because it is “for freedom that he set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Enjoy the blessing of living in this country and being able to celebrate freedom when so many cannot. But, do not forget that God is the creator of life and the commander of liberty. He is the ultimate.

Challenge yourself

1) It’s easy for me to equate freedom and independence. Don’t fall into this trap! We can only have continual freedom from sin if we are dependent on God. We also need Christian friends and a solid church to help us. In what ways are you being too independent? What is keeping you from depending on God? What do you not believe about him or about yourself? Apart from God you can do nothing. John 15 explains that. You can also read Psalm 145 to learn more about God, see that he is worthy to be praised, and that we can rely on him.

2) Don’t become complacent! Don’t just settle into your freedom - that’s when we become lazy, taking God for granted, not continuing to learn and grow. Hebrews 6 is helpful when I need a kick-start.

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If you have any questions for me, want to know more about God, or have any reactions to this post, please email me, Laura Dwight, at dwightl@email.sc.edu . I’d love to talk about it with you!