The Truth Had to Travel
The proclamation was True, but the Truth had yet to travel.
On January 1, 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln officially issued his long-anticipated Emancipation Proclamation, the key phrase of which read: “I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free.”
There are more than a few caveats here (i.e., the proclamation only applied to states deemed to be in rebellion to the United States), but the most important component of this long-overdue announcement was unequivocally True and of paramount significance: Every person is created (by the Creator) equal and endowed (by the Creator) with inalienable rights that no government or people have the right to take away.
It was True before the proclamation and it was True after the proclamation. But what did it mean in reality for those living in slavery on January 1, 1863? The answer might surprise you. For many, it meant . . . nothing.
At least, it meant nothing initially, because Truth had yet to travel.
In a legal sense, the proclamation on January 1, 1863 set slaves free all across the South. But in a practical sense, most slaves were held in places where immediate enforcement of the proclamation was impossible. As a result, the reality for many slaves did not change on January 1, 1863 . . . or on January 1, 1864 . . . or on January 1, 1865. In fact, if you were a slave in Galveston, TX, it was not until June 19, 1865—nearly two-and-a-half years later—that your reality changed!
On June 19, 1865, U.S. General Gordon Granger led his troops into Galveston and read General Order No. 3, which announced—with the backing of enforcement by his troops—the now-two-and-a-half-year-old Truth that all mankind are free.
For the Image Bearers in Galveston, TX, Truth was not fully realized and experienced on January 1, 1863, but on June 19, 1865. Why?
Because Truth had to travel!
The Emancipation Proclamation was both right and True when it was issued. But in order to make a difference to the one for whom it was intended, it had to travel! It had to be carried. It needed a vessel to both transport and enforce it!
General Granger’s arrival, armed with General Order No. 3, meant far more to the reality of those in Galveston, TX than did President Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The latter was most certainly a requirement for the former, but it was also completely ineffective without a mode of transportation and enforcement.
You, my friend, have the role of General Granger today. You are not the One who establishes Truth. But there is an absolute Truth, and you and I begin our time each week by rooting ourselves in that Truth. It is absolute, unchanging, and the ultimate authority whether or not you, I, or anyone else surrenders to it.
But Truth’s intended impact is not fully realized until you carry it!
Truth was always intended to travel, and you were created to be its mode of transportation!
My favorite articulation of this (likely because of my preference for the written word) is Habakkuk 2:2, which says, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” Habakkuk did not give the revelation, but he was responsible for its transport. His method of transport was the written word and a herald, but his core duty was to cause the Truth to travel in order that it would accomplish its intent!
The Truth, my friend, has always been (Jn. 1:1). It was before time and it will be after time. But you live in that intervening space bound by time. It is in that time and space you have been bestowed the critical task of causing Truth to travel!