This 3rd Sunday after Pentecost is also the Sunday before July 4th. There will be lots of parades, fireworks, picnics and much talk about freedom that America secured through military victories. I don’t have any problems with recognizing such freedoms, but do however, have a problem glorifying wars.
It’s amazing how few people in “the land of the free” experience the kind of freedom the scriptures tell us God intends for all humans. It is NOT that God didn’t provide a way; it’s because too many of us have bought into political and religious systems that lie to us, make us fearful of others, condemns us and makes us feel less than. They are systems that pit humans against each other that divide us as Americans, as well as dividing us against people from other countries into camps of “us” and “them.” The sad result is “we” think “we” must deny others their freedoms for “us” to experience “our” freedom; not realizing that such thinking keeps “us” from experiencing the freedom God desires for us.
We all need the freedom to express ourselves and excel in all aspects of life. But we must remember that to get that freedom, one needs to give freedom to others. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “To be true to one’s own freedom is, in essence to honor and respect the freedom of all others.” When you give freedom to others it means you respect their values and help them become truly free.
Galatians 5 teaches us that whatever holds us in bondage such as fear makes us slaves. It limits our potential and keeps us from living in the freedom God intends. The good news is that God call us to a “Glorious Freedom.”
As you prepare for the Fourth of July holiday, I invited you to begin the week with us at Covenant this Sunday in worship. My sermon reminds us, “God Calls You to Freedom” based on “Galatians 5:1, 15-25.” I’ll share how these scriptures helped me experience true freedom.
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