Juneteenth. Some people may not even know what it is still. Others have been celebrating it for generations. But truly for the first time this year, this holiday is getting nationwide attention and celebration that isn't necessarily debatable on whether it is deserved or not.
June 19th, 1865 is the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and freed more than 250,000 slaves in the port city. This was more than two years AFTER President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation into effect in 1863. (He signed it in September of 1862 and it went into effect on Jan 1, 1863).
The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all the slaves but rather was a mandate that all slaves be freed; a mandate that was not followed everywhere throughout the South. Namely, states and towns that Union soldiers had not been to or arrived at yet.
As Christians, this is a victory that we rejoice over and that can be celebrated in so many different ways. What other national holiday reflects the gospel so beautifully? (Not counting Christmas and Easter obviously because those are international). Someone was fighting tirelessly so others could be set free from their bondage and chains, free to live outside of the control of another human being. Likewise, as Christians, Jesus Himself has freed us from the bondage of sin, we are no longer under sin's control or sin's manipulation. The power of Christ sets us free.
"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 NASB.
Likewise to the gospel, freedom from sin does not mean freedom from struggle or hardship in life. The slaves that were freed in Galveston that day had gotten their freedom from slavery and bondage, but the uphill battle that former slaves faced was egregious, and the ending of slavery for them was not the end of their hardship.
The oppression the former slaves faced was troubling at times, difficult to understand, and even hid underneath history. I personally did not gain any education of Juneteenth in public school, didn't even learn about it in college; it was something I came across and had to learn about myself within the last few years. Again, a direct display of how much further public schools must come in the lengths of true American history they need to cover.
The gospel does not free us from hardship but frees us from the damnation of hardship that comes. The gospel grants us PEACE and JOY to persevere through the trials and tribulations that come in our lives.
This moment in American history deserves to be celebrated, with unity and joy. It deserves to be remembered to show just how far we have come as a nation, and although there is much more work to be done, we should take the time once a year to acknowledge just how far these United States have come, and instead of sweeping things under the rug, we acknowledge and remember to heal, to be inspired, and to ultimately move forward with making this country as best as we possibly can. But, it can only go so far if we don't look to or bring the gospel into the transformation that this country still so desperately needs.
"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a
hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with
our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His
present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the
world." - John Winthrop 1630
What is "the gospel" click here for an explanation
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