Best Books
In the Judaic tradition, there are two annual events that commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from oppression. Passover observes their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and Purim celebrates their deliverance from a genocidal plot in Persia. Remembering God’s deliverance from slavery or oppression is deeply embedded in the salvation history of God’s people, and it is a theme continued in the ministry of Jesus. Whenever God rescues people in dramatic and historic form, we should “tell our children and our children’s children.”
On June 19th, 1865, the still enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were informed that they were free, ending centuries of government sanctioned bondage, assault, cruelty, molestation, and oppression. In keeping with the tradition of remembering what God has done, Free at Last (Union Square Kids) is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the day freedom finally came to Galveston – a day which our nation now celebrates as Juneteenth. Along with the impressive illustrations by Alex Bostic, the text by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle poetically tells the story of their deliverance from evil. Here is a passage about how the men and women rejoiced when they learned of their freedom. “Some went to the nearest place of the Lord- to some hollow place in the brush or to a clearing in a grove where folk gathered ‘neath a still standing tree and sang, “Thank you, Jesus, for delivering me.”
Whenever anyone proclaims good news to the poor, liberates the captive, or rescues those who are oppressed, they are echoing the ministry of Jesus and heralding the gospel as Jesus himself defined it. The end of slavery in 1865 was such an echo, and it is right and just to remember how God heard the cry of his people. Free at Last is a beautiful way of telling our children and our children’s children what God has done.
-Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
www.sanctuarychristianbooksandgifts.com
205-663-2370
