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I spent Independence Day at my best friend’s house, surrounded by people who I love, who I can celebrate freely with each year thanks to those who gave up their lives for us.

Freedom comes at a price. And there’s so much to be said for patriotic service members who sign their life away to make sure every citizen is fought for. Every American should know this––that their freedom comes at the price of human life. But what some don’t know is that their freedom in Christ was bought thousands of years ago.

Dear diary: I’m not ready to see the political candidates approving their messages on every commercial break next year.

First things first—I’m not political. I respect opinions, left and right. But before all that, I’m Christian. My freedom, long before the first human touched foot on American soil, was already bought. Purchased. Paid for. It came at a price, and even if I were handcuffed in a prisoner’s cell, I’d still be free. Every day is a day to celebrate my independence from sin and my new dependence on Christ.

Democrats and Republicans alike can probably agree that “The world’s not like it used to be.”

“Gas prices aren’t getting any lower.”

“Crime is rampant.”

“The economy is terrible,” or “The economy is great right now.”

Their response to a lot of this is that Trump must be elected to save the country or that Biden needs to be reelected to keep our momentum. What you don’t hear is that only God can make the major changes that need to happen for us to truly be amazing.

At what point did the country begin putting our faith in humanity? At what point did we decide our moral values are either Democrat or Republican?

The country was shaped by the founders’ Christian values, and granted, our president makes a huge difference in how the country proceeds with its original values, but my message today is this: the person who bought our freedom some 2,000 years ago is the same person who will continue to buy us our freedom no matter where we go in this world.

My morals don’t simply fall into a category of left or right, blue or red. They come straight from the Bible, where Jesus says to have faith only in God. He’s the only way. He’s the only Truth. And he’s the only one who can heal a broken world.

Small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, just like the book of Matthew says. Perhaps if our country walked that way, we’d be better off. Perhaps crime wouldn’t be so rampant and the world could be like it used to.

The Fourth of July celebrates our independence from another country.

Every Sunday––every DAY––we can celebrate our freedom in Christ.

Only God can finish the job.