Independence Day

The beginning of July is a very festive time here in the United States of America. The 4th of July is a day where many celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the same day in 1776. History tells us that back then the 13 colonies rebelled against the rule of England’s King George, who was imposing taxes upon the people without any representation in the British parliament. This was a time of heroes. God fearing men who wrote the declaration of Independence:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

Just reading this brief excerpt from the declaration of Independence, it is easy to see that God-fearing men who longed to be free wrote them. Indeed it is a day worth celebrating.

And so today many workers are given a holiday as the days events are typically marked by fireworks, parades, barbecues, and other forms of great merry-making. The Independence of a nation is no small feat

That is one Independence Day; let us look at another.



Nigeria we hail thee
Our own dear native land
Though tribes and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand
Nigerians are all proud to serve our sovereign motherland.

Growing up in Nigeria, October 1st was the only Independence Day I grew up knowing. By an act of the same British Parliament, Nigeria became an Independent country within the commonwealth on October 1st 1960.

This was a brilliant achievement given the African makeup. There is nowhere else in the world as naturally diverse as Africa, and there is no other country that embodies this diversity more than Nigeria. This isn’t a diversity that is brought about by a gathering of different peoples to one area, but a diversity that exists from people inhabiting their lands since time immemorial.

For example, Wikipedia states that the number of languages estimated and catalogued in Nigeria (Which is about half the size of Texas) numbers at 521. With 510 living languages, 2 second languages with no native speakers, and 10 extinct languages.

Such diversity lends itself to a fierce autonomy of the indigenous peoples, and so the concept of “One nation” becomes foreign and unnatural.

As such it becomes something of a miracle, that people of such diversity who had been carved into a regional Government by the British empire, should band together in pursuit of a concept that though traditionally foreign to them, would rid them of a foreign rule. The Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and countless other peoples of Nigeria embraced this one foreign concept of “Country”, to rid themselves of something more foreign “Lack of freedom”.

But in as much as these two nations gained their Independence, it is only a fragile thing as all things declared by men are.

The United States declared its independence in 1776, and was fighting a civil war by the 1860’s. Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 and was fighting a civil war by 1967. In both instances the very same people who had worked together to secure freedom were now at each other’s throats.

TRUE INDEPENDENCE



So what is the point of this little historical discourse? Well quite recently I was asked an age-old question: When did you give your life to Christ?

You see now that I ponder this question even more deeply in the lamentable absence of the questioner (Lamentable because would that she were here to hear my revelation on the question), I begin to understand that for the Christian the day you give your life to Jesus Christ is your independence day. That is the day you gain your freedom from the clutches of the devil. That is the day that begins the fulfillment of the verse that says “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” Hebrews 8:10, in the life of the believer; The Independence Day that counts.

And so I confess that as I was asked this question I fumbled a bit. The truth of the matter remains that not everyone can point to particular day that they can say that they gave their life to Jesus Christ. For me, my coming to Jesus was a process that saw me raised in a Christian family, while coming closer and closer to Jesus in different levels of depth and understanding.

It remains an unswerving fact that for many, our independence is analogous to that of the country’s we examined. We gain our Independence, but there is still some infighting within us. We have accepted Jesus Christ as our lord and saviour, but there are still parts of our lives that we have not given over to him completely to him.

And so just as these countries who gain their independence but all of a sudden start fighting within themselves, we give our lives to Jesus but because we are still holding back various aspects of our lives there is a war that is waging inside us. And so just as some countries who go through a Civil war come back together after the war is over to achieve greater heights, while some other countries who go through the same remain broken and divided, we as Christian either come completely to Jesus after holding out for a while, or we sink back into the world.

For me, I came completely to Jesus. God introduced various crises in my life that he designed to get my attention. I faced hardships that left me nowhere else to go but the cross. By February of this year, God set aside a 40 day period that radically changed the face of my life and made me into the person that he planned for me to be; The person that he will continue to grow and mold. I became hungry for the word of God, in love with every believer of Christ. My job was changed, I met wonderful God fearing people, I prayed more earnestly and experienced revelation after revelation. My only regret is that I did not surrender to him sooner.

And so when did I give my life to Christ? The truth remains that not all of us have an independence day. For some of us our freedom was a process and even a struggle that continues. But God wants all of his Children saved: And his grace is always sufficient.

And so I ask you the same question my friends: When did you give your life to Christ? When was your Independence Day or Independence period? Are you in a civil war? Is there a struggle raging inside you? Hold on to Jesus. Know that total surrender to him is the only path to victory. Surrender the only path to victory? This phrase would not make sense to the average person. But you are not the average person. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light!” 1 Peter 2:9.

God bless you and keep you now and forever. Amen.