Declaration of Dependence

I live in America. July 4th is a pretty celebrated day across our country. A key word: Independence.

I like to take this time of year and flip things upside down. As the fireworks are in full bloom and my ears are taking in the constant pounding of instant bursts of sound, I think about these things:

• My heart beats without any prompting
• I can move my fingers with little or no thought
• I have a family who loves me
• I can breathe but don't think about it much all day
• I have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world, for free
• ... AND I AM COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON GOD FOR IT ALL

So since it's almost July 4th, let this be my Declaration of Dependence...

...on God

...for everything

Check out these lyrics to Steven Curtis Chapman's song, Declaration of Dependence:

Now just the other day I overheard a flower talking to the sky
He said you know that I would be nothing without You
He said you give me rain, you give the sun a place to shine
You’re everything that my whole existence comes down to
And then the flower started singing a song
Before I knew it I was singing along
And we sang…

This is my declaration of dependence
This is my declaration of my need
This is my declaration of dependence
On the one who gave His life to me

Now, let me say that I’m the kind of guy who wants to do it all myself
Don’t want to ask for help, don’t like to stop for directions
But in reality I’m nothing on my own
It’s by God’s grace alone that I can make this confession
All that I am and all I’m hoping to be
Is all and only what He’s given to me
So I say…

And I know this is how my life was meant to be
I was made for this dependency
On the one who has created me
So I’ll sing my declaration song
For the one I am depending on
And I hope you’ll sing along

image credit

RELATED POSTS:

The Lights Went Out

Are You THIS Dependent?

Raising Dependently-Independent Kids

 

Where do YOU find it hard to be dependent in YOUR life?

 

Comments

[Tim Cole]

Excellent post - in today's Western culture we are taught to be self sufficient and independent, but the reality is - as you say - we are dependent on God for all the things that really matter. Our next breath, our next heart beat... we can't really control those things, we have to rely on Him and trust Him for those. It reminds me of those words in the Book of James: "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." My friends niece, Rachel Joy Scott, who was killed in the Colombine shootings put it this way: "Tomorrow is not a promise, but a chance".

Independence is a bit of a myth really. For all those life sustaining things we are dependent on God. But it also strikes me, and highlighted by some of the things you listed in your post, that we also forget we are meant to be INTERdependent. We were made for community, for life together. The New Testament descriptions of the Church paint a picture of a community, dependent on God and one another: interdependence. Paul's teaching on the use of spiritual gifts, his metaphor of the Church as a body... they all speak of the relationships and mutual interdependence that God intended for us. We all need each other, one of the core messages that our self-centred culture tends to forget. I believe that's one of the reasons God gives different spiritual gifts to different people - to help teach and train us... to show us that we NEED each other, that we should be INTERdependent.

What do you think?

[Scott Couchenour]

Tim - First of all, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to contribute.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you on the INTERdependence. That is definitely another key facet of serving strong for the long haul in ministry. The moment someone thinks they have all the answers is the moment just prior to falling off the cliff ("pride comes before a fall").

I think it would be cool if you wrote a guest post of 300 words or so on how to maintain INTERdependence for the Serving Strong blog (hint hint!) :}