What is your favorite Independence Day tradition? Is it sitting in the backyard with a cold drink in your hand and the smell of the grilled meat wafting through the neighborhood? Is it going to the parade or the fireworks show when the sun goes down? Is it going up north for the extended weekend to get some sun and time on the lake? Is it all the above?

Who would have thought that almost 250 years later, we would celebrate our Independence from the crown of England in almost the same fashion as they did back then? Traditions die hard, don't they? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to change a thing, but I hope during all the celebration, we put down for a moment all the star-spangled pomp and circumstance to take a moment to thank God for all the freedoms he has given us. The freedoms we enjoy in this country are thanks to him, but how too easily we can indulge ourselves with all that freedom. We have the freedom to do this-and-that, but is that how God intended it? Is that the best use of those blessings? Not always.

Christ has called us to be free. We are free from sin and free from death. That freedom is better than any other we enjoy in this country, because it didn't just free us from another oppressive country, it freed us from an eternity separated from God. With all that amazing freedom in the palm of our hands, how should we use it? To indulge our sinful flesh? Certainly not. The heart of a Christian with freedom from God should not say "Look what I can do," but rather, "Look what I can do for you."

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Galatians 5:13