Freedom!

~By Sharon Czerwien

Fireworks, parades, and barbeques! It is America’s Independence Day.

Each family has its own traditions to commemorate America’s national holiday. Whether the familial celebrations are grand or simple, Independence Day helps us all appreciate the implications of the signing our Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Yes, (unfortunately) there are pockets of current disruptions in American unity, but this nation is still blessed with incredible freedoms!

We really need to ponder the idea of freedom, though. We do not necessarily need to analyze this concept on a national level. Let’s bring it down to a personal level.

Are we free to do whatever we want whenever we want? (No) Freedom does require some restraint and self-control. Plus, freedom mixed with love involves a lot of setting aside of preferences.

Here’s a bigger question: what is biblical freedom?

There are *lots* of passages in the book of Romans that would help answer this question (and no, we will hardly touch any of them).

I do not want to get all preachy in this post (though I love the passages that deal with the topic!).

I want to leave the readers with a really upbeat and positive hallelujah post!

Romans 5 covers encouraging material about the hope of the child of God.

Here are two hallelujahs:

1. A child of God has peace with God. (See 5:1.)

2. A child of God is free from God’s future wrath against those who reject Him. (See 5:8-9.)

A child of God can breathe a sigh of relief for this “spiritual freedom,” as salvation brings a freeing hope.

I do not want to miss this opportunity to speak about this biblical freedom, which is more important than what we all experience as Americans. Salvation is what guarantees us a home in heaven when we die.

Below shows an example of what my daughter chooses to write about and place around town. It shows the steps to salvation.

I will leave you with an upbeat and wonderful song that goes well with this “freedom in Christ” post. It is called “Oh My Soul” by Travis Cottrell.

You can view it by clicking here.

God bless you and our great nation,

Sharon