Freedom

As we are nearing the 4th of July holiday, I always reflect upon its significance. It is of course the day our country declared its independence. It is freedom from foreign rule. It has special meaning to me because I grew up in a political family. My mother was active in the League of Women Voters, and she and my older brother John would stay up late at night discussing issues that they thought were important. John was consumed by what

Ellen Taylor

was going on in the world; and his aspiration was to help change things for the better. Eventually, he was successful in that regard by serving in political office. I personally was never very interested in what they were talking about. I think that was because I was 6 years younger than my brother and I was focused on taking ballet lessons! Important stuff like the 4th of July, however, was different.

All families have traditions. There are things that families do every year, people they remember, or dates they commemorate. In our family on the 4th of July, we set off fireworks just like everybody else. But the important tradition we had on this date was to read the Declaration of Independence together and really spend time reflecting on this amazing document and how it paved the way to freedom for our country. The Rights that it spelled out, that we are entitled to, have not changed.  Despite many changes in our world, our desire for Freedom remains.

I believe that the most important thing to understand as Christians is the message that the document provides. My favorite (and probably the most famous) passage is, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The authors of this document clearly were men of faith. I believe that they acknowledged the existence of God as our Creator, but primarily they were talking about personal independence. This would be the ability to make our own decisions and choose our own path in life.

But there is a different type of freedom: the type that Christ offers us. This freedom is not contained in a document written by man. This is not a freedom that we have had to earn. We do not receive it by doing good works or by staying busy doing what we think is right. It is, however, the most important type of freedom. I am, of course, speaking of spiritual freedom. We can only attain this by truly accepting God as our Savior and by following His teachings. When Jesus came to earth to walk among us, He said that He had come to proclaim freedom. (Luke 4:18) He also said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) He was not setting us free to do whatever we wanted to. He was liberating us to walk in relationship with God and to be the type of people He created us to be. He gave us the ability to obey God and to choose His will for our lives. So my hope for you would be to allow yourself to commit to the will of God, for this is the only sure way to find peace and to be truly free.

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John: 8:32

​In His name,
Ellen