Bob Girard
Psalm 85 Luke 14
Because today is the 4th of July, I thought we might think about our independence. My question to you would be&we have our freedom with all of the opportunities that come along with it, but are we totally independent? I hope your answer would be, “No.” We can choose to do many things with our lives, using the freedoms we have been granted, but we are dependent upon God and one another to have our lives be meaningful to ourselves and others.
In both the Old and New Testaments, we read about people setting out to accomplish many things. They were sent on missions. They were sent out to share God's word and teachings. They were sent forth to lead bands of people into better lands. They had the freedom to accomplish these tasks, but they had the guidance of God and Jesus to help them. They were free but not without dependence upon God for strength as well as direction.
We make many commitments in our lives today&to programs, events, causes. We get involved because we are asked, because we are interested, because we believe we can help make a difference, that things will be better if we along with others do something.
When we make the decision to get involved, we start out like a blazing fire or like a bottle rocket taking off. After a while, we become more like smoldering ashes, needing to be revived. We find ourselves burning down, but not out, because we discover we need to know more, gather more interest, often being pulled away by more pressing issues.
What about our faith? We have accepted the commitment to follow Jesus. We work hard toward this commitment. Our presence here each week is proof of that. During the week because of all we must do and take care of, we begin to burn down. We need the revival that comes from gathering together to hear and celebrate God's Word. We are given a breath of air that fans our fire to get it burning strong and bright once again.
In the 85th Psalm, we read about a low point in people's lives. They had gained their freedom from captivity but were disappointed they had not gained all they had hoped for. They were reminded that if they prayed and worked together, God would revive their spirits so they could move forward with greater hope and expectations. Their fire had not gone out, just burned down. God like a rush of oxygen to smoldering embers would have their spirits blazing once again. If God did that for those people so long ago, we can have faith God will do the same for us today.
As we look into the Gospels, we find many examples of Jesus touching people's lives. The people knew somehow Jesus was different. He showed them kindness and humility, but still had a commanding authority about Him. Jesus told those people and is telling us that there must be a commitment on our part if we are to continue to follow Him. Jesus calls upon each of us to take up our cross and follow. We must remind ourselves to always put Him first in our lives as well as in all we involve ourselves in.
There is a example in the 14th chapter of Luke that Jesus used to describe people's involvement in almost anything. I think it could very well be talking about us today. We start out like a ball of fire, ready, eager as if we were going to build a house. We rush to dig out the ground, get the foundation in, then begin to question ourselves. Did I get too involved too quickly? Am I going to be able to get all the materials I will need? Will I have enough resources? Do I have enough understanding to read the blueprints? We reach a point where the fire begins to burn down - not out - just down. Instead of just letting everything sit, we must gather what we need, find others to help who can fan our embers and get us blazing once again.
When we make the commitment to follow Jesus, we work at it. We cannot allow other things to dampen our fire. There are many attempts for this to happen. Jobs get in the way. Family responsibilities creep in. Other people try to lead us away. When these things happen, our fire dims. Then we gather together for worship, church school, Bible study, activities receiving that rush of oxygen to get us blazing again. Our commitment becomes stronger once again, for we have gathered the necessary supplies to keep us moving. Our commitment gives us the independence and the ability to live full rich lives. We are able to make a difference each and every day as we go about our routines.
As we celebrate the 4th of July today, we need to remember the commitment of our foreparents. They had a dream of a better way of life, one with more freedoms than they had experienced. They began to build with a foundation. To be sure they faced many hardships. Their fire would burn low from time to time. A big part of the foundation they put down was their faith in God, sometimes differing from their neighbors, but allowing God to be a part of their lives leading them to accomplish their goal. Thinking back, they had to be open to the rush of oxygen that would revive their fires, their purpose to keep them building what we know today as the greatest nation in the world. I do not believe their efforts would have been successful without God's presence in their lives. We cannot continue to be a strong nation without God's presence in our nation or our lives today.
We have our freedoms, our independence, but we cannot be independent. We must continue to have God be a leading and driving force in our lives in all that we choose to be involved with. We will accomplish very little without God's presence. As we celebrate today, I hope we will take a few minutes to give thanks to God for all we have and can accomplish. Let us also give thanks for all those who have fought and are fighting in other places and here to protect our freedoms.