Free indeed

Everyone reading this, I imagine, observes the Fourth of July and is eagerly awaiting Wednesday's festivities (or is dreading it because it comes with family gatherings that sometimes provide more reasons to pull apart than get together, but I digress). The tradition, of course, is rooted in celebrating the Declaration of Independence and freedom from British rule.

Along with acts of patriotism, such as parades and flag-waving, Americans spend the day shooting off fireworks, barbecuing, attending concerts and going to baseball games. Anything that resembles a celebration is on the table.

I am grateful God has blessed us to live in a nation known for its freedom. I am grateful our freedom exists because men and women died to secure it. I am grateful this freedom is sustained because, all these years later, people continually volunteer to protect it -- as well as protecting others throughout the world.

But it's more than that for me. I cannot help but reflect on the word "independence" -- freedom -- when I think of Independence Day. My mind always goes to what true freedom is, and that always leads me to my faith. The Bible verse "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36) jumps out at me this time of year, among other times, because after all the cookouts and cheering, at the end of the day, what matters most is being "free indeed." Are we? How many of us have been in a crowd of people but felt alone? How many of us have had money in our pockets but felt poor inside? And how many of us will loudly celebrate our freedom on Wednesday but not know on Thursday what it is to be free indeed?

It is possible to live in a free nation where we can come and go as we please and enjoy endless opportunities but be enslaved nonetheless -- by fear, by the opinions of people, by our past, by sin. So when I contemplate freedom -- independence -- I think about Christ, who came to set us free from all those things not just as a nation, but as individuals. When I embraced that kind of freedom is when I found the indeed kind of freedom Christ secured for every person, regardless of nationality.

Jesus reminded the people, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18).

The current political climate in our country has created and/or revealed many a poor, brokenhearted, blind and bruised captive -- and not just in traditional ways. We have ills a Fourth of July picnic can't cure. Don't get me wrong; I'm all about the festivities that unite people and make us cheer. The food is delicious. The fireworks are moving. The family time is memorable. May we never abandon these timeless traditions that help identify us as a nation. But my prayer is that beyond all the customs we've come to associate with freedom, we would experience true freedom that will cause us to be loving -- or at least civil -- to one another on July 3 and July 5 and...you get the picture. I pray the grace this nation has been extended will cause us to extend grace to our political opponent or cranky co-worker or nosy neighbor. And trust me: it's not easy. However, it does become easier when we reflect on the grace God has extended toward us.

This Independence Day, I wish for all of us food, fun, and festivities, but most of all, I wish -- pray, rather -- that we put our faith in a Savior who paid it all so we can be free -- indeed.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.