“The Spirit of Dependence”

“The Spirit of Dependence”

On July 4, 1976 our nation celebrated the bicentennial of its independence from England. Many special patriotic events were held throughout the country in recognition of this milestone. Since the occasion took place on a Sunday numerous churches (including ours in western New York) marked the event with appropriate music, messages, thanksgiving to God for granting two centuries of liberty and prayers for His continued blessing.

During that year our state’s fellowship of churches had a theme, “The Spirit of Dependence”. Flyers and buttons were made available to open doors to conversations about how good God had been and how much we needed to rely on Him for national favor. Subsequent years have demonstrated the consequences of ignoring Him and making Him unwelcome in our society (“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”—Proverbs 14:34).

The dictionary defines independent as “Free from the influence, guidance, or control of others”. Politically this refers to self-government (the objective of our founding fathers). But is there any such thing as true independence? Nations rely on other nations to supply goods they’re unable to provide for themselves. We as individuals need other people (physicians, financial advisors, contractors, etc.). And churches need to work together in missions and outreach (not to mention when problems arise and outside counsel is needed). So rather than independence maybe we ought to emphasize our interdependence on one another.

Most of all, however, we must recognize our dependence on God. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). (In the Greek the expression is emphatic and could be rendered, “Apart from me you can do nothing at all.”) Our total reliance on Him is reinforced by Paul’s assertions, “…Our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5, Amplified) and “…I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.” (Philippians 4:13, NLT). To cite a line from a great hymn from 1787 (the year our Constitution took effect), “What more can He say than to you He has said….?”

In this, our nation’s 242^nd birthday month, may we together show “The Spirit of Dependence” on Him who said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord….” (Psalm 33:12).

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan