When I was 9 years old, I learned of a famous woman.  Her name was Harriet Tubman (1819-1913).  My teacher taught me that she was a black slave that in cooperation with many people helped the slaves escape to places were they could enjoy freedom. My teacher taught us that Harriet worked through what was referred to as an underground railroad which was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by American black slaves to escape to free US sates and to Canada.  I learned that Canada was referred to as the “promised land” a place where thousands of black slaves could call home.

To many black slaves, Harriet Tubman, was like Moses, she was helping people escape bondage.  She was a conductor of the underground railway and she was bringing people who had endured so much pain to a place where they could be respected and live in peace in defiance of the law which enslaved them.  On September 18^th, 1850  US Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act which stipulated that it was illegal for any citizen to assist an escaped slave and sought to force the authorities in free states to return fugitive slaves to their “masters”.  Man’s law was working to defy God’s law of equality.

The day I learned all of this at school I came home from school and cried.  I cried as I reflected on how much the poor black people had suffered.  I looked at my white flesh and wondered, “how can it be that people judged people by the colour of their skin.”  With tears flowing down my cheeks, I thought about the hardship that these black slaves, our brothers and sisters in God’s family, endured to try to find safety and live in peace.  And on that day I told God that I wanted to be like Harriet Tubman, a woman that upholds human rights and sets the captives free.

Today, we continue to fight a battle against slavery and that slavery is called sin.  The promised land is heaven and it is Jesus who makes us a promise to bring us there.  Each disciple of Jesus is part of God’s network that assists souls living in the bondage of sin to find redemption and peace in Our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Let us pray for the salvation of all souls every day.  Let’s be ready to make sacrifices for one another and then the Spirit of Our Lord will truly be upon us!

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Luke 4:18-19

Join The Mercy Movement  that prays everyday at the time Jesus died to set all sinners free!