Declaration of Dependence

One of my major goals as a parent has been to raise children who at some point become independent of me. Not just financially, but in every other respect as well. We expect this of them as they mature. God, on the other hand, doesn’t raise His children to become independent in any way, shape or form—not even those He considers most spiritually “grown up.”

I remember hearing this truth in a Bible study (Maybe a Beth Moore study?) years ago and it shook me to the core. You see, I’d always prized my independence, worn it like a badge of honor. I was always the child who could “do it myself.” I didn’t want help. I didn’t need help. Or so I thought. But that day I suddenly realized that independence was the last thing God desired of me. Instead, He wanted me to live in total dependence on Him. Forever.

Dependence. Not as a weakness, but as the ultimate strength. Dependence. Not by remaining a babe still feeding on the milk of the Word but through continued growth feasting on the meat found in Scripture. A deeper relationship to foster a greater dependence, not a lesser one. As an immature believer that truth sometimes chafed. Now dependence resonates as the sweetest freedom of all.