
Introduction to this letter written to my father
The One True Statue of Liberty
We, as a nation, are celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence this weekend. Use to be a big deal when I was a child. Doesn’t seem so anymore. As our nation proceeds down the path of a self-inflicted demise by ignoring and even despising the roots of the freedoms we experience every day, we love to complain about the freedoms we seem to be losing. No surprise. We tend to lose what we ignore and take for granted. A sad state of affairs in our national and personal lives takes over when this this is true. I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else in these comments.
In my letter to my father, dated July 4, 2018, I describe the several other “Declarations of Independence” that have taken place in history’s past. Not all have led to freedom. Most of man’s actions of declaring independence have in fact created more bondage when not fashioned and formed around the “Truth.”
But what about me personally? Unlike being born in this great nation where the freedoms won in times past are apportioned to me by my citizenship, the freedom that Christ won on the cross does not transfer to me because I “am.” I am in bondage by my citizenship in the human race. I can not come into the liberty that was won on the cross of Christ until I come to my own personal Independence Day. What is this liberty that was won for me and I can now accept as my own? The freedom from the bondage of sin and the price of its eternal penalty.
The enemy hates it when we make our own personal declaration of independence by placing our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross on our behalf. I have made my declaration, “I Believe.” Let the celebration begin. Let’s throw out the persistent and perpetual lies of the enemy that try to persuade us otherwise. When in doubt let’s run to that holy hill and stare in amazement at our own personal Statue of Liberty, the cross of Christ. Unlike the lady in the harbor, our statue will stand for all of eternity and we with it.
This letter was written to Pops on July 4, 2018.
The One True Statue of Liberty
If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36
Happy 4th Pops,
July 4th. Dad, some of my fondest memories of the Johnson clan is on this day. The beach, hot dogs, Mom’s wonderful chili beans and potato salad. Playing endlessly on the beach and in the water. Four sets of skinny legs with hands out, getting warm by the bonfire. Staking our claim to our little plot on the beach for the day, anticipating the fireworks in the evening. All culminating with you hosing us kids off to stop the intrusion of sand into the house. Great memories!!
July 4th marks one of the greatest days in the history of mankind in the desire for freedom and independence. It was the genesis of the greatest form of human governance in existence, a democratic republic.
There are some other days when the desire for independence did not turn out so good for mankind. The day Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the garden was also an act of declaring independence. They believed the lie of Satan and determined that they knew better than their Creator. They believed being independent from God was a better way to live. That decision was the genesis of the greatest enslavement of mankind, the bondage and enslavement of man to sin.
"God's terrible insistence on human freedom is so absolute that he granted us the power to live as though He does not exist, to spit in His face, to crucify Him." Phillip Yancey
God could have turned his head and left his creation to be. He could have chocked it up and said, “Oh well, I guess that plan didn’t work. Damn them to Hades.” But He didn’t, pure love cannot do that. Pure love demands action. So, He, God, acted.
It was the total antithesis of the act of sinful pride and independence. Philippians 2:8, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” NIV. God’s Son gave up His throne and became a dependent man. He walked this earth as we walk it. The greatest act of humility and servitude in all millennia, past, present and future.
"If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are free." Dwight Moody

God uses the foolish to shame the wise. As the cross of Christ represents our Statue of Liberty, we cannot come into this liberty Jesus provides by just looking at the cross. What is the liberty John is speaking of in verse 8:36? The liberty is the being set free from our bondage and enslavement to sin. Another day of independence must come for each one of us individually. There is no mass apportioning of Jesus’ provision of liberty and freedom. We have to make the transaction each ourselves. How? Romans 10:13, “Everyone who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” NIV. By this we declare our personal Day of Independence, the independence from the bondage and price of sin. Free indeed! Freedom for eternity.
Looking forward to seeing you Pops!
Comments are welcome below!
Subscribe below to receive all new posts in your inbox.
Comments