Independence

Well, Happy 4th of July, dear readers! Lately, I've been thinking a lot about independence, so how appropriate that it's Independence Day! (:

First of all, I was thinking about the idea of 'independence.' What is it? What does it make you think of? For me, as a high school graduate, I think of it as independence from my parents - in the sense that, now I have a job so that I can help pay for things. It's my responsibility to make sure my laundry gets done. It's my responsibility to keep my room clean. I'm pretty fortunate that my parents don't make me pay rent! However, independence is much more than getting a job. Independence is much more than cleaning my room and doing my laundry. It's much more than a college degree.

When you think about independence, you should think about two things: 1) What was the cost of this independence? and 2) What are you becoming independent from? These two questions will help you to truly enjoy independence and freedom at its fullest.

The first thing we should think about is the cost of independence. You should think about the lives given to keep America a free nation, where we enjoy freedoms that we would not be enjoying had we not gained this independence. We often take for granted, or even wage verbal (or maybe even physical?) warfare against our troops. While "just war" is another blog topic for another day, I think that as a country, we should stand behind our military. Imagine what modern day life might be like without them! If the Revolutionary troops hadn't fought back, maybe the Quartering Act would still be in place and we'd all be housing a British soldier against our will. If the Allies hadn't fought against the Axis, dictatorship would be running rampant. We don't realize the blessings that we have a lot of the time, and there are people in this world fighting to make sure that those blessings are our rights.

What are you independent from? How is our country more free than another? What freedoms do we enjoy? Well, for one, we enjoy the freedom of speech. That's what makes this blog possible. I know that there are objections to this rule, but for the most part, we can shout our opinion about every subject we can think of (not that we should). We also enjoy the freedom of equal rights between men and women. Did you know that in some countries, women are regarded as less human than men? Did you know that there are some tribes that regard women as the fairer sex to the point that they sacrifice their male children? It's happening all over the world. At least in America, the idea that men and women have equal opportunity is a fairly normal practice in every career field. These are only a couple of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

What about spiritually? (You all knew it was coming, didn't you?) What is the cost of your independence, and what are you becoming independent from? I would like to analyze these questions backward from the way we analyzed the independence of America as a whole.

What are you becoming independent from? The question is, why do we need spiritual independence? If God is good and loves all of His children equally, why do we need independence at all? I think that for those of us who believe, we often forget what we gained independence from. Do you remember being lost? Do you remember how it felt to wander, searching for truth, but coming up empty? Do you remember what it was like to believe in something, but have it shattered by doubt and uncertainty? Do you remember what it was like to feel hopeless?

I do.

It's very clear to me that Christianity today has been watered down to the point that it is undesirable even to those who are searching. Christianity has become legalistic in the eyes of the non-believer. Our version of Christianity is not the same as it was in Bible times. In Bible times, people loved God, loved people, and by that mindset, they won people to the Lord. Of course there were arguments over acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, and of course the church wasn't perfect back then...but what have we done to the Gospel, dear friends? What have we done to make the Gospel, the inspired Word of God, so unappealing to those around us? No wonder the world feels hopeless! Do you understand what I'm saying, dear reader? Non-believers do not look to Christianity for hope, because we as Christians are failing to live as if we've gained independence from hopelessness!

We live day-to-day thinking, "Hm. Maybe I'll tell someone how different my life is because of Christ...if it's convenient." But there is a world out there devoid of hope. Like you were. Like I was. What have we gained independence from? We have gained independence from the grips of Satan. We have gained independence from hopelessness and hatred, from godlessness and greed. Do you realize what has happened when you've given your life to Christ? You've been transferred from the Kingdom of Hopelessness to the Kingdom of Hopefulness. Do you live like that? Do you live in such a way, in speech and in deed, that shows others that YOU have hope? Well, why not?

The second question is, what was the cost of your independence. We know, dear readers, that freedom is not free. What was the cost of your freedom in Christ? Did you know that it's the very same cost that soldiers pay for the freedom of their country? It's death. God's justice system requires death of those who do not obey His laws. He very clearly gave us laws to obey in the Bible, which overflow from His essence of absolute truth. He made it knowable and clear, so that even the simple would know (Psalms 119:130). I don't know if you remember, but in 450 B.C., the whole of Roman society were to know their laws for the first time, in a simple form. The Dicemveri (twelve men of the commission) produced the Twelve Tables, putting an end to social and civil confusion of what exactly the law entailed.

Until that time, the Roman people were obeying law by hearsay. They had nothing concrete to run with. It was important for the people to have a written law, because it was otherwise uncertain to them, except by word of mouth. Do you see what a difference having a written law makes? Everyone was able to know the law, written in common language, so that they could understand. Their ruler, Valentinian III, was obviously in a place of what seemed like absolute power, so his wishes seemed too lofty for the simple to understand. The importance of having the law available to the people made it possible for the people to have a clear choice of what was right and wrong in their society. (As a side note, I do not endorse all of the laws that Valentinian III wrote for the common people, I'm just saying they were at least written for the public to see.)

Do you see the parallel? God's ways and wishes were, before the ten commandments, unknowable to human minds. However, God made simple laws so that the people would have a clear vision of what was immoral in God's eyes. How do we know that it was from God? Well, check out the historicity of the Bible and it's accuracy. Go ahead! I'll still be here when you get back. Obviously, that site isn't extensive, but I can give you more information! Just ask. (:

Like I said a couple blogs back, Jesus was the one who took our death penalty. He obeyed all earthly law, even though He was God, and He paid the price that we would've had to pay otherwise. It's literally a life or death decision! Did God have to do that? Could He have satisfied our penalty otherwise? I don't know. But this is what He chose to do. He chose to save us from hopelessness and the muck of everything nasty on this earth, and wills that all of us will come to Him. As for Hell...He doesn't send us there. He allows us the "life or death" choice, and whatever choice we make is what we live and die with. There are all kinds of ways to know that God is who He says He is in the Bible. Pick your fancy. Are you a science nerd? A history geek? An artist? An animal lover? All of the above? God satisfies your deepest need inside for a Savior.

What is true independence? It's the freedom that we enjoy every day, both physically in our nation and spiritually, if we've chosen life. It's really that easy...just choose life! Just choose spiritual independence...but make sure you're not making yourself independent FROM God, but rather independent FOR God. That's right where He wants you. Happy 4th, everyone!