In the opening days of July we often think back to the birth of our nation and the Biblical principles it was founded on. There are often readings of inspirational texts like the preamble to the Declaration of Independence in which Thomas Jefferson penned the words. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance upon the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
Inscribed on the Liberty Bell are the words of Leviticus 25:10, which planted a divine idea of freedom in the hearts of the founding fathers: And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan
The year of Jubilee was just one of the many ways God intentionally demonstrated what our hearts intuitively long for: freedom! While we may not have such freedom in this world, Paul reminds us in Phil 3:20 that we are citizens of an even greater country, a nation in which our freedom is complete and personal. The blood of Jesus Christ won us that freedom, and it belongs to everyone, regardless of our story, our race, or past sins, when we come to Christ on his terms we inherit real and complete freedom that can never be taken away.
