Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day as a nation. One of the primary topics of conversation around this day involves freedom. 

Freedom for so many means “the ability to do whatever we want.”

Unfortunately, whenever we do what we want, the side effects are often guilt, shame, remorse, and pain. We make poor choices that hurt ourselves and those around us. Our so-called freedom makes us slaves to our mistakes and failures. Doing what is right in our own eyes seems like fun until we are trapped in an empty prison of unhappiness. 

It seems contrary to modern thought, but genuine freedom is only found in following Jesus. The life he calls us to lead is filled with love and support. There are no stains left over from the choices we make. He meets us with mercy and grace even when we fall short of his desire for us. 

The story for many of us living in the United States is a sad tale of using our freedom for evil, which can send us down the hole of shame into addiction and escape. 

There is another way to live, and it sounds like you are giving up your freedoms. But the things we are leaving behind are only the things that hurt us. 

Living the Jesus way is different from what most people want, but it gives us a story with a happy ending, which is what we really desire.