Harriet Tubman

We’ve been going through a series this year about saints. I’ve been talking about how we are all living, continuing stories of God’s love and grace. One of my favorite Bible verses on this topic is:

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

-Revelation 12:11

This shows how powerful our stories are. We hear stories like Esther or Elijah or so many other Bible characters and pray to have that kind of story. However, they were examples for us to see how God uses them. We are not called to be them. Rather, we are called to live out our own stories.

“ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

-Ephesians 2:10

I believe because of these verses and that God is the author of our story - that we continue to be living examples to others of what God can do through someone. One of my favorite American “saints” or “heroes” is Harriet Tubman. As you know, the United States of America has shown a lot of oppression towards black people throughout history. You can read more of that here or here. Growing up in a black community, I was surrounded by beautiful stories of people who overcame segregation and oppression.

Harriet is someone who is a legend for her work as a runaway slave. She was raised in slavery and horribly mistreated. Despite her mistreatment by slave owners, she chose to believe in God. This is astounding - considering the very people who enslaved her claimed it was God’s will for her to be mistreated and a slave. Tubman believed that she had supernatural visions and revelations from God. She could not read the Bible for herself - but was told stories of Jesus by her mother.

There are people who believe that God no longer speaks to us. This is simply not true. Here in the United States, we have the privilege of access to the Bible. There are people like Tubman who cannot read, don’t have access to the Bible, or even will be killed for reading the Bible. In places like that, it is still common for people to say they have visions and dreams of Jesus and the Bible and coming to know Him.

It is abundantly evident that Harriet was a follower of Christ. When she escaped slavery, she chose to go and rescue others who were still enslaved. Using the Underground Railroad, it is said that she rescued at least 70 people from slavery in many trips to bring them to freedom. She would use African spirituals to send code to let people know whether or not it was safe for them to run. Harriet dedicated her life to seeing others set free.

I, personally, cannot think of a better example to represent Christ and His love. He died on the Cross, so we could have freedom. Harriet laid down her life to help others find freedom. And, she continued to believe in a Jesus that was misrepresented by those around her. May we all choose to be willing to lay down our lives to help others find freedom.

“Greater love hath no one than this - that He lay down His life for others.”

-John 15:13