This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach…I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. — God through Moses

Deuteronomy 30:11, 16

Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. –Apostle John

1 John 5:3

This is my command: Love each other. –Jesus

John 15:17

Today is the day America celebrates independence from British control. It is the day she became a nation.

Independence is self-rule. After America’s colonization, there came a time when she no longer desired to be ruled by a system of government an ocean away. The colonies wanted to rule themselves, to be self-governing. There was war. The fledgling colonies won.

There are many ways to gain and express my independence. As backward as this may sound, my independence is best expressed and experienced in a loving relationship with God. There is no greater freedom than loving the One who knows me best. No greater protection than keeping God’s commands.

If you skimmed over the verses for today, go back and read them again. More than once we are told that the desires of God are not burdensome, they are not too heavy or too far away for us to reach. They are within our grasp.

Jesus makes it very simple.

Love others.

Therein lies my freedom. Happy Independence Day!