Today is Juneteenth, a more newly recognized holiday in the United States commemorating the day that the last slaves were freed in Texas after the Civil War. That freedom announcement came months after the ending of the Civil War (which ended in April of 1865) on June 19, 1865.
I can only imagine the elation of the freedom that those men and women felt. To have lived through the persecution and mindset of being owned by someone else and then. . .to be free. Reflect on that as best you can. While there are certainly other forms of slavery in the world today (think sex trafficking as a primary one), no one alive today in the United States can fully understand it. It requires the imagination to engage because while most of us have felt some sort of oppression or resistance in our life, we likely have never felt anything close to that level.
However, to imagine the utter joy of freedom that they must have felt on that day in June of 1865 is something that I’ve been pondering. That new-found freedom was life-changing for them. To be free of literal shackles in some cases. To be told that they are no longer controlled by another. They were released to live a life without the bonds.
I am not able to fully understand how they must felt but it does make me think of the freedom we gain in Christ. We were slaves to sin. Slaves to a fallen nature. Bound to live under the control of The Oppressor, Satan. Separated from the One who loved us first. We had no prospects of freedom. We were destined for destruction until the love of Christ set us free, giving us word of the victory and freedom Christ had won for us on the cross.
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song that comes to mind. He talks about the concept from a slightly different but similar perspective:
There’s no one more thankful to sit at the table
Than the one who best remembers hunger’s pain
And no heart loves greater than the one that is able
To recall the time when all it knew was the shame
The wings of forgiveness can take us to heights never seen
But the wisest ones, they will never lose sight of where they were set free
Love set them free
So remember your chains
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone
We have many reminders in this life of pain, suffering, and sorrow. Juneteenth is a holiday to remind us of the freedom for a suffering of a people…an elation that most can’t fully comprehend.
However, we have the chance to live in the freedom Christ provided us through His work for us on the cross. The joy that we have been given is immeasurable just like the depths of His love for us.
So, as we celebrate Juneteenth and as exceptional as that freedom was, remember a greater victory and freedom won. Remember your chains. . .are gone in Christ Jesus.
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