Juneteenth is gospel
Juneteenth is gospel. I am incredibly thankful that America is commemorating the day and our Black brothers and sisters now have the opportunity to celebrate this part of our country's history. I rejoice with them.
But why do I say that this holiday is gospel? First and foremost, the gospel simply means "Good news." Can you imagine being unjustly enslaved and then told (2.5 years after legal emancipation, mind you!) that you were now free? That's some very good news, if you ask me.
There is no other American holiday—with the exception of Easter, though that's too on the nose, perhaps—that serves as a such a picture of the gospel and what Jesus did to set the world free. Whether you know it or not, the invitation to freedom has been given. Eternal emancipation has been proclaimed. We only need to hear and receive it.
Of course, freedom, like salvation, is a process. As much as the enslaved people of Texas were glad to receive the news of their freedom, in 1865, there was not the opportunity to enable that freedom as they deserved. There was work to be done to walk out and live in the fullness of that freedom.
Likewise, there's always more freedom that we can continue fighting for and pressing on towards. The same is true as it pertains to justice and equity in our world, just as it does in our spiritual lives. Let's be bearers of good news and help others share in greater freedom.
And today, let's also rejoice. As it says in Galatians 5:1, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Brothers and sisters, I stand firm with you in pressing on toward greater freedom. Onward.
Originally posted on Facebook.
