For those in America, happy independence week!
For all of you, happy dependence day!
It is fascinating to me that our culture is built around independence—and don’t get me wrong, I love the fact I live in a free nation. But beyond politics and government, the culture itself is all about “me”—what I can produce, what I can pull off, me, me, me, me. Our favorite subject is “me” and our favorite song is “Oh how I love me.”
But Christianity is not about you. It’s not about what you do for God. It’s simply not about you. It is all about Jesus.
Our call as Christians is not to live independent of God (as if we could produce something out of our own effort, wisdom, talent, and ability … hint: we can’t). Our calling as believers is to live dependent upon Him. I’m not talking about passivity where you do nothing or sit on the couch and wait till God pushes you off—dependency is all about allowing God, via the Holy Spirit, to empower your every moment. To not live self-focused but to live Christ-centered. It is to center and build your entire life around Him, and He alone.
This is not about you.
So while we celebrate America’s independence this week, may we all celebrate and cherish our dependence on God every day of our lives. For anything less is not Christian.
Know I am cheering you on unto that end!
—NRJohnson