What does National Freedom Day mean to you?
I find it hard to believe only a little over 150 years ago we had actual, accepted, outright slavery in our country. It seems like it should be historical fiction. It’s hard to fathom the awfulness that was considered normal (although reading that line does strike me as ironic, considering the way our society is today – oh, come, Lord Jesus!) in this nation.
Thankfully, our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln had issues with slavery, as well, and led our great country to outlaw this unjust practice.
We celebrate National Freedom Day on February 1st because that’s the day, in 1865, that President Lincoln signed a Joint Resolution of both the U.S. House and Senate that would become the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, effectively abolishing slavery or involuntary servitude in our country. Although it took many years for our citizens to fully accept, I like to believe, as a whole, we now consider all races equal.
As believers, we know that Christ abolished our slavery over 2,000 years ago. He signed our freedom papers in blood. Why not integrate that into our celebration? That’s a freedom each one of us can tap into daily. To me, it means I don’t have to be trapped in the mold I was born into, the body of inherited-turned-cultivated sin that so easily enslaves me, a.k.a., my flesh.
I believe children are greatly influenced by parents and those around them—terrifying thought as a parent, I know! We naturally pick up the good and the bad we experience. After all, by beholding we become changed, right? (2 Corinthians 3:18) That little jewel goes both ways.
Our destiny doesn’t stop there though. The excuse that, “Oh, I’m this way because of this, that, or them,” is the biggest cop-out, and most hideous, crippling lie the Devil wants us to believe. We might have tendencies or preferences, but the choices we make and the actions we take are our own. It’s high time we as a society recognize that.
The choices we make and the actions we take are our own. We must stop hiding behind excuses and labels for our behavior. Click To TweetWe must stop hiding behind excuses and labels for our behavior, and I believe the best way to overcome those lies is to truly understand the Good News of the Gospel, the idea that in Christ I am now perfect, that God sees me as though I’ve never sinned. Wow! That cuts me to my core. Grasping that truth gives me a desire to bring God glory in this flesh. It doesn’t give me a license to sin, but the opposite: a desire to live up to how God already sees me. Talk about grace.
After I realize my position in Christ, I naturally think about my immediate family. Do I give my children that kind of grace? Not always. Shouldn’t we, though? After all, we can trace many of their sins—those pesky things that annoy us and make our eyes twitch—right back to ourselves. That in itself should humble us.
What might my children become, if they live daily bathed in the grace that God bestows so freely on me? What would it mean for them to believe that their parents view them as if they had never done wrong—not that we don’t still have an obligation to correct them, but that we aren’t holding their flesh over their heads, just waiting for them to slip up again? Would it maybe give them a desire to live up to that kind of admiration?
How about our spouses? Could they use a little breath of God’s grace? How much better to have their love because we’ve first loved them, instead of them striving to achieve a standard that’s always just a bit out of reach. If we love them (even when they are sometimes unlovable), they’ll want to live up to the love and respect we give freely. That’s the kind of love God wants us to show each other, and the kind of love that heals and cements marriages.
If we love our spouses (even when they are sometimes unlovable), they'll want to live up to the love and respect we give freely. Click To TweetPerhaps slavery has been around longer than I initially thought. Since the Garden of Eden, we have undoubtedly been slaves to our own selfishness. Why not use February 1st as a day to renew your relationship with the Lord and really consider where you might still be struggling in slavery today?
“If the Son makes you free,
you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36