Independence Day is upon us. Each year on the 4th of July we celebrate perhaps the most quintessentially American holiday. With barbeque and watermelon, friends and family, we celebrate both an event and an idea: Independence. To celebrate we make sure that the “Heavens declare the Glory of God” with fireworks and music, what would otherwise be silence is filled in with our “ooh!”s and “ahh!”s. It is grand and it is glorious and it is ours; America.
One strange thought often fills my mind as we celebrate independence; we all celebrate independence by being united. Independence, in a sense isn’t what we have ever wanted, and it isn’t actually what our founding fathers fought for. We wanted independence from Britian to be sure, but so we could live united with one another. Independence Day is really a celebration about being free to live together, to depend on each other, to be united. This unity, and this freedom to be bound to our neighbors were things our forefathers believed were gifts of God worthy of sacrifice to build and protect.
Our founding fathers were right. The freedom to give oneself fully to and for our neighbors is a right given by God. It is one worthy of protection and sacrifice. Independence gained to allow us the freedom to unite with each other is the essence of that Christian freedom which was shown to us and won for us in Christ. Luther describes in his treatise “The Freedom of a Christian” that Christians are completely free in Christ, while at the same time we are freed to be servants of all. Luther understood that freedom is only a gift when we are free to use it for the blessings of our neighbor.
This Independence Day I encourage you to look beyond the celebration to see what has inspired us all the way back to the founding of our nation. Celebrate as we always do by using your freedom to gather together with your friends, family, and neighbors as one. That unity is God’s gift, worthy of your sacrifice to build and protect.
In Christ’s Freedom,
