“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 NIV).
On June 19th many African Americans, especially in the state of Texas, celebrate what is known as Juneteenth.
According to historical documents, for almost 225 years people of African descent were lawfully enslaved within the borders of the United States. Abducted from their families and homes, shackled in irons, taken by force to a foreign land, sold as property and then forced into servitude—men, women, and children became slaves in America. By the 1860 United States Census the slave population had grown to 4 million.
January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. In brief, this document declared that all slaves would be permanently freed. However slaves in the state of Texas failed to get word of Lincoln’s liberating decree…and continued to endure the hardships of slavery. Two years later, June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Texas heralding the news that President Lincoln legislated, “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive (president) of the United States, all slaves are free…”
This date, June 19th, continues to be celebrated as Juneteenth—the day commemorating the freedom of slaves. Although many states recognize Juneteenth, Texas became the first state to proclaim it an official state holiday in 1979.
Thousands of years before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation the prophet Isaiah declared, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1 NIV).
And later Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in a synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-19, 21 NIV).
Long before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, our Lord proclaimed the liberation, freedom, and release from bondage for everyone enslaved by sin. Believers have indeed been set free! And yet, like the slave owners in Texas, we often hold those who’ve been set free in unforgiveness.
For the better part of a year I struggled with properly loving a few sisters in my church. Misunderstanding, personal issues, too many words from one, too few or silence from others resulted in much pain. In an attempt to ward off further pain I traded healthy boundaries for unhealthy barriers. Without spoken words, my body language and demeanor screamed: KEEP OUT! NO TRESPASSING!
The altercation with my sisters was painful, leaving me deeply wounded. I cried and prayed begging God to take the pain away. The Lord answered my prayer by telling me I was holding my sisters in unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness has been described as hurt demanding justice. By focusing on my feelings I failed to see the single solution—forgiveness. This is how Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the word forgive: 1) to give up resentment against or the desire to punish, stop being angry with, pardon; 2) to give up all claim to punish or exact penalty for (an offense), overlook; 3) to cancel or remit (a debt)
By holding others in unforgiveness we become bound and imprisoned—slaves to sin. When we fail to forgive others, our Heavenly Father cannot forgive us. We don’t forgive because we feel like it. We forgive based on God’s forgiveness of us. What makes forgiveness such a powerful principle is that it has nothing to do with feelings—it’s an act of the will. When, as an act of our willful obedience, we partner with the Holy Spirit we are then empowered to do all things, even to forgive those who’ve hurt us, through Christ who gives us strength.
Pastors’ wives often carry the unintended (and sometimes intended) hurts and offenses of others. Let’s celebrate “Juneteenth” every day—as we remember our Lord’s proclamation, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 NIV), and “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14 NIV).
Free at last…