Pastors Pen

The celebration of Independence Day always arouses mixed emotions in me. I am reminded that while Americans rejoiced with cries of "freedom" on July the 4th, for many generations African Americans were not free. As slaves, those words rang hollow in our ears as having sound but no meaning. We could not share in the euphoria because it did not apply to us. Even today, there are those that question our patriotism, forgetting that the first to die in the American Revolution was Crispus Attucks, an African American.

However suspect we have been to the notion of freedom, we can be thankful for the words of Jesus Christ: You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. In other words, true freedom does not rely on an edict or a proclamation from on high, but resides in a relationship with Christ. The Truth we shall know is that "without Him, we can do nothing". John 15:5. Jesus can free us from the sin that binds us; the habits that destroy us; and the death that awaits us. It is a liberation of mind, body and soul. A freedom of the spirit.

Do you want to be free? Try Jesus. His words encourage us: "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light". Matthew 11:29-30.