Four score and seven years ago. What an eloquent way to capture time and harness its meaning. Eighty-seven years between an ideal and its reality. Eighty-seven years from the signing of a document declaring independence and a speech which would set into motion emancipation for an enslaved race. Eighty-seven years of redefinition. In truth, “all men are created equal” was a luxury for some, an albatross to others. Yes, four score and seven years may have felt like a lifetime to bear the weight of captivity, but emancipation would replace it as its new overseer. The ensuing years would challenge those once held captive, but a choice was now their reward: walk in freedom or remain enslaved.
“Let my people go,” Moses said to Pharaoh. This warning was sealed in a prophecy and promise made by God to his descendent, Abram. “Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:13, 14). The prophecy’s fulfillment resulted in a land of promise for the Israelites. And now God’s chosen were rewarded as well with a choice: continue to live in mental enslavement or embrace a spiritual freedom.
Today’s society unknowingly lives a life of enslavement apart from The Only Emancipator. The slave master is called sin and The Emancipator is Jesus. He rewards freedom to all who accept Him. This freedom He willingly offers is not earned. It’s not even awarded to the most deserving, distinguished or developed. Most people would ask the question, why. Why can’t we earn or purchase our freedom? Because it is our sin which enslaves us and only Christ’s death on the cross is its ultimate price tag. In return, our freedom is His gift to us, a gift which carries no strings or conditions. Simply, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).
The beauty of freedom is in choosing the right emancipator. I pray you choose well!
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