Celebrating Mandela's Freedom

Celebrating Mandela's Walk to Freedom
Twenty years ago today,Nelson Mandela walked out of prison to freedom. When he marched out of the confinement which he suffered for 27 years, he carried on his shoulders the hopes for the millions of non-white South Africans, imprisoned in apartheid's grip, and those of white South Africans who lived behind prison walls of shame and separation. I well remember one year before Mr. Mandela was freed how a taxi driver in Johannesburg told me that "blood will flow before apartheid ends." I joined the millions of people in and out of this country who watched this great man as he emerged from this long imprisonment free not only from his chains, but from bitterness and with his legendary determination to see the freedom he now had, fully realized for all of South Africa. He said: "To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. A few short years later, when all South Africans had a free vote, he became the first President of a free country. Since then he went on to garner too many awards to mention including the Nobel Peace Prize.
The children in this photo are the ones who have reaped the benefit of Mandela's freedom. When I saw them two years ago at one of South Africa's most beautiful places called the Potholes, this was the first time they had seen these mountains and waterfalls and canyons as free children.
Today I was so pleased as the women shared what this day meant to them. Some of them were children and others old enough to join in the grand celebration and then cast their first vote. There has been much build up and historical and all other kinds of reflection to mark this day. Truthfully South Africa has made some progress but many argue not enough, but as i told the ladies, whatever their circumstance today, they are free. They are free to live anywhere they desire and be what they want to be. We also shared what it means to enjoy the freedom that Christ brings to our lives as we trust Him. So with the rest of the world, I celebrate this day of freedom and even more, the fact that I am in South Africa, since, 20 years ago, I never would have dreamed i would be here as a volunteer missionary.