Independent

Many of us have been raised and taught to be independent, and in many cases, many of those teachings were a good idea. Although, in the true definition of the word, none of us are independent. In fact, I hope to teach you all that independence and the desire to be independent are sinful in the eyes of God.

I cannot walk, touch, breathe, see, hear, think, eat, or exist without being fully dependent on God the Creator! When I hear someone boasting about how independent they are, I want to ask them how well they think they would fare if they were jettisoned into space.

Could they create their own planet with its own atmosphere, spinning in rotation orbiting around a star at the perfect distance for that planet to sustain life… and so on. Of course not! Or do you mean independent from people? I get it, you are completely dependent on God but independent from mankind.

Oh, I think not! Could you survive for an extended period of time if you were placed in the wild unclothed with nothing at all? I doubt it, even if you had extensive training in fieldcraft, how long would you survive? I could easily write the cause of death memo on your death certificate.

It would show one of these categories: Died of (exposure)(animal predation)(insect predation)(starvation)(thirst (infection)…

Are you beginning to get the picture? How long and how primitive would your existence be? No, dear people, we are not independent. In fact, we are completely dependent on God and become more so with each passing day. During the exodus, God fed the children of Israel in the desert and they depended upon Him and one another for every aspect of life.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said, “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul, and the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself!”  (Mark 12:30-31)

Hmmm, love your neighbor as yourself? Yep, that’s what the Lord said. Are you still taking pride in your imagined independence?

Some of you may now be asking yourself, who does this guy think he is? Well, I’m a man that has made all these mistakes in spades! I have failed so much it’s painful to think about, and made huge bad decisions along with devastating mistakes.

Fortunately, by God’s grace, He has shown me those mistakes and redirected my path and priorities. I speak from hard-learned experience when I tell you of the wrongs of being prideful and having a haughty spirit, so please stay with me as I continue.

The Word of God tells us to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Ref. Romans 12:2)

I received my salvation at age 35; that was almost 30 years ago now. I have come to realize that for many of those years and all the years prior, I was being trained for where I am today. Believe me when I tell you my failures were many and the path was long and hard.

I have often said that “man is the master of his own demise” and brother, that is a fact! When we decide to make our own decisions and our own choices according to our will, failure is all but certain. But if we are making our choices and decisions based on God’s Word and focus on living within the will of God, blessing and success comes in abundance.

The Word tells us that Jesus came so that we might have life more abundantly. I have seen this truth manifest in my life! Let me give you some insight as to how this happens. It is really a single decision, I didn’t say it was easy but it is worth it!

There is a hymn that goes “I surrender all”, and that’s all it takes—surrendering all, all of the time every day and night, focusing the desire of your heart on serving God in every single aspect of your life, will prove to be the greatest and most rewarding thing you have ever done.

In this you will find true joy! Nope, it isn’t easy and it takes constant effort, but the reward outweighs the struggle, by far! We should all take up our cross and follow Jesus!

There is one area we should be independent. As Christians, we should be separate/independent from the world as much as possible! We should be one with God and separate from the world.

I hope I have given you all some insight into the fact that we are completely dependent on God and need to be independent from this world. In other words, we have to be in this world but not of the world.

I want to share something the Holy Spirit made me aware of this morning. It’s a short story but a touching education.

My son has this dog and she is the most loyal animal I’ve ever seen. Yesterday after work, my son was traveling to see a dying friend for the last time, and he asked us to keep his dog with us while he was gone.

I have watched this precious dog that loves him so much just sit on the porch and watch down the drive waiting for him to return. Nothing on this Earth has any more importance to her than my son.

My heart felt for her and the Holy Spirit revealed this: love is the most important, deepest, and strongest aspect of all life. That little dog has and places no value on worldly things. The only thing that occupies her heart is her love for my son. Should we as Christians not be the same? Forsaking all the world for our love of the Son, our Savior Jesus Christ!

I pray you all will be transformed by the renewing of your minds through the Holy Word of God.

Amen