Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.—John 8:36 (NKJV)

Of all the grievous travesties for those who were enslaved in our country, one stands out as an additional tragedy. The history of it is embedded in the celebration known as Juneteenth, which commemorates General Order No. 3 by Union Army General Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas, a declaration made on June 19, 1865 (hence, Juneteenth). Many months after legislation was passed, and almost three years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Texas were still in bondage. Finally, on June 19, federal troops arrived in Galveston to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were set free. Freed months earlier, although most did not know it, they were still held in unlawful bondage as slaves. 

Juneteenth is now celebrated widely as a day to remember, reflect, and to move forward. It’s the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, and is often marked by sermons, guest speakers, picnics, and family gatherings. 

My heart is heavy for those who ever lived enslaved or who had ancestors who were slaves. It’s an especially heartbreaking injustice that people remained in slavery just because they had not been informed of their freedom—freed already but not living free. 

Likewise, some people don’t know they have been declared free from their bondage to sin and their redemption was purchased by the blood of Jesus. It’s up to me, and all of us as Jesus followers, to fight injustice and to proclaim the freedom that is offered in Him.

Faith Step: What still holds you chained? Spread the Good News about Jesus and choose to live in the freedom He bought for you.