Celebrating a Different Kind of Freedom

This year’s Independence holiday reminds me how thankful I am every day for the freedoms afforded me in America. It’s important to recognize that our rights are not entitlements, but gifts paid forward by the sacrifices of our forefathers. We must never take them for granted. For as we’ve witnessed in other parts of the world, countries can gain their physical freedoms only to lose them in a moment. This is why we need a different kind of freedom to sustain us.

If we’re truly honest, we must admit that our present-day freedoms are relative. Even with the safeguards built into the constitution, people are not equally independent. We live in a fallen world with human trafficking and child abuse—not in some third-world country but right here in the US. Injustice and oppression remain despite all our efforts. But there is hope.

Hope comes in a different kind of freedom, not dependent on the stability of governments or the whims of changing human values.

Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. . . I tell you for certain that anyone who sins is a slave to sin! And slaves don’t stay in the family forever, though the Son will always remain in the family. If the Son gives you freedom, you are free!”

John 8:31,34-36 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The freedom promised by Jesus is never contingent on circumstances. Our social status or country of origin mean nothing to Him. It doesn’t matter whether we live in a democracy or a dictatorship. Christ grants us equality as beloved children of God and citizens of a heavenly kingdom, not of this world.

Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.

Galatians 3:28-29 CEV

Yet even though I celebrate a different kind of freedom through Jesus, I remain grateful for my birthplace. The US has given me opportunities out of reach for most women in the world. I cherish America for the freedom to pursue my education and the relative safety to live and raise my family.

These are priceless gifts I cannot repay. Nevertheless, I can choose to pass these blessings forward, and so can you. Don’t waste your freedom on selfish gain but honor this benefit by spreading your love and goodwill to those around you.

On Independence Day and every day, remember—you’re blessed to be a blessing. Go out and bless the world.

My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All the law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.

Galatians 5:13-15 CEV

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