A visit to the Freedom Center was a great way to start the month set aside to consider history from a more comprehensive viewpoint. The path prepared for visitors is a journey through history that offers excuses to no one. Empathy and appreciation guide the way as the opportunity to witness the absolute worst and best in humanity unfolds. The United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Emancipation Proclamation gave full expression to the movement taking shape that would provide a better way forward in a hostile world driven by greed and ambition. Those who desired justice and mercy over tyranny and oppression were slowly making headway, refusing to be intimidated while steadily challenging the status quo and helping slaves reach freedom in the North.
Cincinnati’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a work of architectural beauty. Monumental exterior stones support an impressive structure utilizing various complementary building materials, and the spiral staircase inside offers expansive views of the museum’s three floors. A slab from the Berlin Wall stands in front of the building, reminding us of what happens when tyrants remain unopposed.
Whether you find your surname on display among the "owners" or not, all people have fallen short of God's glory, and all are guilty of selfish disobedience (see Rom 3:23). The biblical admonition to love and treat people the way you want to be treated is the crux of the Book’s message (see Lev 19:18; Matt 7:12; John 13:34). Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden, human beings have been born enslaved to sin and separated from our Creator (see Ge 3; Rom 5:12; Eph 2). Lovelessness is a sin, and the wages of sin is death (see Rom 6:23). But there’s hope because Jesus is the friend of sinners (see John 3:16; Matt 11:28-30; Rom 10:9).
Everyone descended from the same two people, so everyone is an ancestor (see Genesis 1, 2). Visitors have the opportunity to grieve humanity's failures and the brutal loss of lives while resolving to oppose ungodliness in ourselves and others. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).