Independence Day--What do you depend on?

Who doesn’t love Fourth of July? The fireworks, the parades, the cookouts, the neighborhood get-togethers, the pool parties. Or in this year’s case…the 100+ degree heat index, the brown crackly grass, the cancelled fireworks displays. We talk a lot about independence in this country. We like to think we’re independent of other nations’ aid, or need of any kind from an outside source. But let’s face it, we all depend on something or someone. Whether it’s a job, a reliable daycare provider, a car, a washing machine, or electricity that millions of us in the nation went without this past weekend. Some of us are still dealing with the sweltering heat without the benefit of something we take for granted every day. (God bless the guy who came up with refrigeration.) Americans don’t want to depend on anything. We like to think we can take care of everything just fine, thank you very much. And millions of people do it every day. But we miss the point. Jesus said, where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Liberty. Isn’t that what our nation was founded on? We think depending on Christ means we give up our freedom to do what we want, be who we are. Actually, the opposite is true. God wants the best for us. He wants us to be fulfilled, for every dream and heart’s desire to come true. Man is the one who made God out to be an angry tyrant who came to steal our joy and freedom and turn us into little robots. He could’ve done that easily enough, but instead he gave us free will to make our own choices. As a loving, perfect father, he didn’t want us to love him out of obligation or fear. He wants a loving, close relationship because we want it, not because we’ll get struck by lightning if we don’t perform. I challenge you tonight as you watch your town’s fireworks display or lounge by the pool or make ice cream sundaes with the grandkids to think of what you depend on. Where does your dependence lie? In a material world that fails us every time a tree falls across electric lines. Or on a God who never fails. Sure rotten things will still happen. But may we rest in knowing our heavenly father cares and mourns with us. He loves us and desires the best for his children, including liberty and freedom.