Independence Day Reflections

This is the first time in a few years we have been in the US for the 4th of July and this year I’ve been reflecting more about what independence and freedom mean. “Home of the free” is a common saying in our country, but what does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be free as a follower of Jesus Christ? 

As a Christian I am formed by the Scriptures of the Bible and one of the passages that speaks of freedom is from Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Growing up in the church I heard a lot about freedom in Christ, but most of this was around the idea of freedom from sin. It went something like this; Jesus died on the cross and in his death we have been set free from our sin. But over the years I have seen that this isn’t the whole story. This is a Western, individualistic interpretation of the gospel and the cross.

In our work with migrants from Iran and Afghanistan almost all of them speak about the desire for freedom. It might be freedom from different things; persecution, unemployment, oppressive family systems, legalistic religious regulations. And almost all of them come to the church with an idea of Christianity that it offers freedom from these things. But what is it that we are really free from? And what is it that we have been set free for?

All religious systems have the possibility of becoming legalistic and a set of rules that one must follow. There are these strands in American Christianity, there is this strand in expressions of Islam, and I think this is the idea that Paul was writing against in his Jewish context. When we read the whole of Galatians it becomes clear that Paul was arguing against a type of religious legalism that set following the law and certain rules as the main goal. This is what he refers to as the “yoke of slavery.” But through Jesus Christ we have been set free from this legalistic religious expression. As I hear the stories from migrants in our community, I think there experiences closely relate to those of the Galatians. The way they previously understood following God was through following a set of rules and commands. But does that mean that if we follow Jesus we are free to live however we want?

The Exodus story is arguably the main story of the Jewish faith. It is a story of God setting the Israelites free from the oppressive system of slavery imposed by Pharaoh. But as this community of people leave Egypt in freedom and wander through the desert God presents them with a set of rules, the Ten Commandments. Not a legal law, but a code of living in community as a people free. The irony is that they are now free, but they need to learn what it means to live in freedom together. 

As I reflect on Independence Day, I think we often think of this as freedom to live how we want. Freedom from anyone telling us what to do or how to live. After all, the founding story we tell ourselves is one of people coming to America to find freedom. Homesteaders moved further west to find freedom from cities. We are a people framed by a rugged individualism. Regardless of the way this is expressed now politically, many Americans believe freedom means the freedom of choice or the freedom from government.

But I think when we read further in Galatians we come to what Paul means by freedom through Christ. In verse 13 Paul writes, “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” As followers of Jesus we are not given liberty to live how we want. Rather, we are bound together and commit to live out of love for one another.


If we were to really live this way, how would it change our lives? How would it change the policies we advocate for in our churches and our government? After all, I believe everyone, no matter where they come from, is seeking the freedom for a good quality of living. And if this is the case, how do we live lives of love towards one another that support a good quality of life for all?

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