07/04/2025
On July 4, 1776, the 2nd Contental Congress accepted and embraced the Declaration of Independence, thus declaring freedom from the British crown. But simply declaring freedom did not automatically give freedom. Rather, a long and bloody war ensued between the then 13 colonies and the British Empire ultimately claiming the lives of more than 250,000 people from either fighting or disease, with nearly 80% of those being from the American side of the conflict. Freedom came with a very high price. While we today celebrate our national freedom with fireworks and cookouts, we must never lose sight of the fact that the truest form of freedom was actually won over 17 centuries before the Declaration of Independence was signed. This freedom is in the blood of Christ as seen from Calvary's cruel cross. This blood, shed by One for many, is what paid the price for us to be able to not simply live free from an uncaring, distant, and tyrannical crown, but to live free from sin and the bo***ge of death we are all trapped in. Jesus' words "it is finished" declared freedom from sin, but the battle has raged on, and the ultimate victory is close at hand. As we celebrate our nation's freedom and watch fireworks explode in the skies overhead, let us remember that one day soon the sky will be rolled back like a scroll, the elements will melt with servant heat, and the Lord Himself shall descend with a shout, a trumpet blast, and the voice of the Archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then the living redeemed will be gather together with them in the air ever to live in true, lasting, eternal freedom from sin and death. Celebrate freedom with joy, but always remember where real hope comes from, and strive to live every day according to what is in the Scriptures.