Freedom - a Spiritual Quality

Freedom, a Spiritual Quality
I’m sitting here on the 4th of July – better known as Independence Day. It’s dusk and the sound of fireworks are randomly exploding from all sides. The laughter of neighborhood children brings a smile to my face, as my two children are already fast asleep.
The word independence stays in my thought. What does it mean? Freedom! One dictionary definition says “freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.” Freedom from the control or influence of others means we’re upholding the first commandment, which reads “thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Or as I like to think about it “thou shalt not let anything else have power in your life except me, God, good.”
So, if we’re free from the control or influence of others, that means we don’t let anyone influence or control us but God. We refuse to let others control our moods, our actions, and even our reactions. What an incredible sense of freedom that must give us. What wonderful independence!
More and more I’ve been understanding the importance of this. Another way we seem to let people have control over us is when we’re looking to another to be our source of happiness, our source of fulfillment and love. The people we often look to for this is our spouse, our children and our parents.
While this may seem like a natural thing to do, it’s actually believing that God didn’t create us complete in the first place. That something was missing – happiness, love, completeness – and that we need someone to give us what was missing.
The more I’ve been able to stop thinking of people as my source of happiness, the more unconditional love I have for them. I’ve noticed the sense of condemnation and judging disappearing. Instead I’m able to see my family members as pure, innocent ideas of God on a more consistent basis.
This brings freedom to not only myself, but all those around me. It becomes obvious that I’m at peace and not looking for others to give me what may seem to be missing.
Knowing God made us in His image enable us to understand that we automatically come with everything we could ever need. Since God is all harmony, we automatically are created with unlimited amounts of harmony. This is true for every good, wonderful, satisfying quality you could ever think of.
As I’m finishing this article, the fireworks are booming all around and I’m really feeling the sense of freedom. I’m looking forward to being with each family member – knowing they are completely independent of my happiness. They are not my source, God is!

For more, visit www.GodDoesHeal.com