Losing My Religion ~ Independence Day

Greetings Dear Reader, 

I wonder how you feel about your nation.   People will tell you how much they love or hate this one.  Today they will picnic or protest.  They will enjoy fireworks or complain about them.  For years this was a day of baseball and Grandfather pride for me. 

People call it the Fourth of July.  The actual day is Independence Day.  It is a celebration of the day we declared our independence from England.  I have written before on my thoughts concerning the act itself.  What I am pondering today is the nature of our independence and what we have done with our freedom. 

The religion of Americans seems to be politics.  We politicize almost everything.  We no longer have the freedom to be apolitical without being criticized for it.  If we hold a bake sale to raise money for slow-moving snails, we have to make sure we have vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free options.  Someone is bound to ask about dairy-free and high fiber choices.  Add to this the requirements of ingredients being responsibly sourced from sustainable providers and it becomes less and less about the arthritic snails.  I tried a brownie once meeting all these criteria.  I was offended by the taste.  

It feels as if I must address everyone’s potential offense in everything I do.  I do not see us addressing the genuine offense regarding the Father who allows us to live in peace and freedom.  We, as a nation treat God as if he either is not the source of all our blessings or worse, as if he does not exist.  The religion of America is whatever cause the individual champions.  The Father often becomes a bumper sticker on the vehicle of our politics. 

Whether we are waving the flag or tramping on it, we do so under the grace and mercy of God.  We use the freedom we have to conscript God for our cause or ignore his part in granting said freedom.  Neither of these is sustainable.  Neither is responsibly sourced.  

We must lose the religion of independence and realize we have all offended and are all at the mercy of a God who loves us.  Instead of seeking him out, we complain because he does not do things our way.  We treat him like a buddy at a barbeque and ask him to make our plans his.  We reject his Son and assign him to care for the things we cannot manage.  We strip him of power in our faith and practice but expect him to give us what we need. 

No matter where we land on the spectrum of America, we seem to use or disavow God for our own purposes.  It is time to remember his providence in our freedom.  It is in our dependence on him we find the freedom to live, and move, and have our being.  We must lose the religion of America and remember who made us, loves us, and wants to guide us home, Dear Reader.  We need to become independent of anything but faith and following. 

Wishing you joy in the journey, 

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good. 

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon            
Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Facebook     
Twitter        
Medium         
Instagram 
BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Every freedom comes with responsibility.