“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” John 8:36 (NLT)
What does it really mean to be free?
Every Fourth of July, we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. This year is especially meaningful as our nation celebrates 250 years of independence. We gather with family, wave the American flag, enjoy fireworks, and remember the sacrifices made by those who have served to protect the liberties we often take for granted.
Every year around the Fourth of July, something beautiful happens in our hometown of Calhoun, Kentucky. American flags line the downtown streets, gently waving in the summer breeze. One of our neighbors proudly displays the American flag along the country roadside and lines his long driveway with flags. Every time I drive through town or pass his home, I find myself whispering a quiet prayer of thanks to God for the freedoms we enjoy. Recently, I even purchased a small solar-powered hot air balloon that hangs from a shepherd’s hook outside our home. Each evening it glows with patriotic colors, reminding me how much I love our country.
As I reflect on America’s 250th anniversary, my heart is filled with gratitude. I thank God for the freedom to carry my Bible, gather with other believers, pray openly, teach fitness classes that include Scripture and prayer, share the Gospel through Shaped by Faith, and encourage others through television, radio, and this newspaper column. Around the world, many believers do not enjoy those same freedoms.
But as grateful as I am for the liberties we enjoy as Americans, there is a greater freedom that no government can grant and no government can ever take away.
Jesus offers a freedom that reaches far beyond our nation’s borders. He alone sets us free from fear, guilt, bitterness, shame, addiction, and sin. As wonderful as America’s freedoms are, they cannot heal the human heart. Only Jesus Christ can do that.
One of America’s greatest symbols of liberty, the Liberty Bell, bears the words from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Long before America celebrated liberty, God was proclaiming a far greater freedom, one that would ultimately be fulfilled through Jesus Christ. True freedom has always begun with Him.
Galatians 5:1 reminds us, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free.” True freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want. True freedom is the power to become the person God created us to be.
Before I came to know Christ, I carried burdens I was never meant to carry. Many people appear successful and confident on the outside while quietly struggling with worry, anger, unforgiveness, or the pressure to measure up. Jesus did not come merely to improve our lives. He came to transform them.
As someone who teaches fitness, I often think about freedom in another way. Physical freedom allows us to move our bodies, care for our health, and serve others with strength and energy. Spiritual freedom reaches much deeper. It fills our hearts with hope instead of despair, peace instead of anxiety, forgiveness instead of resentment, and purpose instead of emptiness.
Second Corinthians 3:17 reminds us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” That freedom is not dependent on circumstances. It cannot be voted away, stolen, or taken from us. It belongs to everyone who places their trust in Christ.
Psalm 33:12 says, “What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord.” As we celebrate our nation’s past, let us also pray for its future. Pray for our leaders, our communities, our churches, and our families. Ask God to draw hearts back to Him, because a nation is strongest when its people seek the Lord.
As fireworks light up the night sky this Independence Day, pause to thank God for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Then ask yourself one important question: Am I living in the freedom Christ died to give me?
When the last firework fades and the flags are folded away, America’s 250th anniversary will remain a milestone worth celebrating. But an even greater celebration belongs to the Savior who purchased our eternal freedom on the cross. The freedom found in Jesus Christ never fades. Now that’s freedom worth celebrating.