Freedom Isn’t Free, But It’s Paid For
Here in the United States, Independence Day officially launches us into summer. We see grills fire up, coolers crack open, fire pits lit, and fireworks paint the night sky. We gather with family, post pictures, record videos we’ll never watch again, raise our flags, and tell ourselves we are free. We say it loud. We live like it’s true. Sorta.
But scratch beneath the surface of the red, white, and blue — you’ll find hearts still hardened and burdened. Anxiety, shame, bitterness, greed, self-inflicted trauma, purposeless living — we call it normal, but it’s bondage dressed up with sparklers and burgers. We celebrate liberty, while quietly existing in chains.
That’s the brokenness, the depravity we try to hide every day. We flirt with a freedom that’s centered on our preferences, our comfort, our politics, our self-made image — yet still leaving us empty.
Thankfully, Jesus sees through it. He cuts right to our soul. The Son of God didn’t give His life to make us more patriotic or more comfortable. He came to make us free — free from sin’s grip, free from our fallen nature, free from fear, free from one day’s impending doom, free from the hollow idols that rule our daily lives.
“If the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” (John 8:36)
When we wave our flag, because there’s no shame in that, let’s not mistake it for the cross. One might stir our pride; only the other saves our souls.
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