Ephesians 3:12  In [Christ Jesus] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (NIV)

In the United States, the Fourth of July is a celebration of freedom—freedoms hard-won by our Founding Fathers and fought for by countless people since that first Declaration of Independence. The five freedoms enumerated in the U.S. Constitution (freedom of speech, the press, religion, and assembly, plus the freedom to petition the government) are blessings to the citizens of the United States.

But we Christians have another citizenship. We are citizens of God’s kingdom, ruled by his Son, Jesus. Jesus provides us with hard-won freedoms as well: freedom from sin, death, and the devil, and the freedom to approach God, our heavenly Father, in prayer. These freedoms provide a great deal of comfort and encouragement to us parents of children with extraordinary needs. Think about it:

Freedom from sin means that even though we “blow it” from time to time as parents, failing to show the perfect love toward our children that God shows toward us, we don’t need to live in fear of punishment. God forgives those sins because Jesus died for them and freed us from the power of sin. (John 8:34,36)

Freedom from death means that even if our children have conditions that shorten their lives—or our tendencies toward enormous stress and exhaustion shorten ours—neither our Christian children nor we will ever truly die. Jesus has conquered the grave. We and our children can look at death as the entrance to eternal life in heaven, where our children will no longer have extraordinary needs, and we will again have perfect love and health! (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Freedom from the devil means that even though Satan will try hard to undermine our efforts as parents, we don’t need to fear him. Jesus has beaten Satan as well, and he has sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts. We do not need to fear being tempted beyond what we can bear; God will provide a way out from each temptation Satan sends our way. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Freedom to approach God in prayer means that even though we often may feel isolated while raising children with extraordinary needs, we are never truly alone. We can talk to God all day, every day—and he encourages us to do so! (1 Thessalonians 5:17) God is ready to help with all our parenting struggles, and he can help in ways we can’t even imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

The freedoms won for citizens of the United States are truly blessings. But the freedoms Jesus won for us believers as citizens of God’s kingdom are much better—and very encouraging to parents of children with extraordinary needs. Praise God for our Christian freedoms!

Dear Jesus, thank you for setting us free from slavery to sin, death, and the devil, and for making it possible for us to approach your Father’s throne directly in prayer. These are the most valuable freedoms we have! Teach us to remember these freedoms as we deal with parenting challenges and to gain comfort and encouragement from them. Amen.

By Jane Mose