Happy Independence Day! We plan to celebrate our nation’s independence today by grilling some meat and lighting some sparklers.

I am very thankful for the freedom we experience as citizens of this nation, and this morning I’ve been mulling over how much I esteem freedom and independence. What does the Bible have to say about this topic?

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. -John 8:31

and

If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. -John 8:36

and here’s one to chew on

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. -Romans 6:16-18

So true freedom is knowing truth through trusting Jesus Christ, and actually leads to utter dependence upon God. Think with me about how Jesus describes Himself.

He is the Light of the world. He who follows Jesus will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life. We are totally dependent upon Light.

He says He is the Good Shepherd. A shepherd feeds sheep, leads them to water so they may drink. He protects them from predators and steep cliffs. Without a shepherd, the sheep would wander and starve and die.

He says He is the Vine and we are the branches. Unless the branches of the plant are connected and growing from the vine, they die. They are utterly dependent upon the vine.

Besides these, Jesus calls Himself living water and the bread of life–even more life-giving, life-sustaining necessities upon which we are dependent.

So while I am definitely thankful for the physical freedom I have today in America, I am all the more grateful for the fact that God has set me free from sin and death…to be entirely dependent on Jesus for life now and for eternity.