Freedom.
What a profound concept — the absence of or deliverance from bondage and the ability to choose that which pleases God. Freedom is the brainchild of the God who is The Deliverer. God has never desired the bondage of people — not to anything and not to anyone, except to Himself. I still remember the day I fully realized my freedom in Christ. Do you remember your freedom day?
In the book of Exodus, God delivered the children of Israel, in wholesale fashion, from the powerful clutches of Pharaoh. After 400 years of bondage in Egypt, 1 million to 2 million Israelites were delivered out of bondage. Their deliverance came with shocking and overwhelming suddenness. With plague after plague, God served notice that bondage was not the destiny of any people He had created to serve Him.
In Luke 4:17-19, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor.
Isaiah 61:1-2 (ESV)
Jesus himself had come to open prison doors and to set captives free! The Exodus account pictures a literal deliverance that opened the way for the children of Israel to worship God freely, spiritually. It also served as a type and a metaphor for the ultimate deliverance from sin for human beings from every tribe and tongue and language. Later in His teaching ministry, Jesus declared, “… if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 ESV)
Freedom is not merely a metaphor. It’s not merely a philosophical or even political concept. It’s not just an inspirational narrative in our Bibles. It is the experience God longs for, for every human being. He is zealous for our freedom — freedom from Satan’s deceptions, freedom from addictions, freedom from negative thoughts and emotions, and freedom from oppression of any kind. A casual perusal of Jesus’ three-year ministry is our proof!
On June 19 African Americans celebrate as we remember, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” Today we celebrate the freedom that came to nearly 4 million slaves — people of African descent — who for generations were bound, oppressed, beaten, and used for free labor to build much of the economic foundation of America. Despite the horrors of the Transatlantic slave trade, God brought us to our freedom.
After the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect on January 1, 1863, nearly 3.5 million slaves were declared to be free men, women and children! However, the message failed to reach enslaved people in the Texas territories, leaving more than 250,000 enslaved people completely unaware of their legal and declared freedom. Imagine living your life as a freed person through faith in Jesus, yet unaware that you have the power to live free from sin’s chokehold!
On June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years later, the good news of freedom finally reached the Texas territories! Slavery had finally been annihilated by a powerful proclamation with legal legitimacy by the U.S. Congress and President Abraham Lincoln. Freedom from chains, fear, and unkind treatment were finally realized everywhere in the country. And so were born the elaborate celebrations of people of African descent everywhere — dancing, singing, praising, eating and rejoicing!
So what can our Converge family learn from this powerful exodus from slavery?
Here are a few thoughts:
- Only a God like ours can bring about such a powerful undoing of slavery’s bondage, both physical and spiritual. We are on the side of the Gospel when we pray for and work for the freedom of children, women, and men, in the name of Jesus, from any form of oppression.
- Wherever we see people being freed from bondage, we see the Spirit of God at work. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV). Let’s join Him by praying fervently as He brings the freedom that the Gospel demands.
- Choose to celebrate the goodness of God with African Americans whose forefathers endured over 200 years of enslaved existence in America. Today we remember what God has done for us! He is our Deliverer! “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another.” Romans 12:15-16 (ESV)
- Boldly declare the Good News of freedom to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues: “Jesus is still at work setting captives free! He wants to give you freedom to fulfill God’s extraordinary plan for your life.”