It’s often said, “Some Christians are so heavenly-minded they’re no earthly good.”
But it was never meant to be that way, and we see an extraordinary example from Isabella Baumfree, a courageous champion of Jesus who was also a tireless advocate for human rights when that concept was scoffed at.
Born into slavery sometime around 1800, Baumfree was raised on a farm about 150 km north of New York City and sold repeatedly from the age of nine to men who routinely beat and sexually assaulted her.
One of them promised her freedom if she worked especially hard for a year, then changed his mind.
So late in 1826, Belle ran away with her infant daughter, Sophia, but had to leave behind her son, Peter. She found her way to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, who protected her by buying her services from her enslaver. A year later, New York State abolished slavery.
When Belle learned her five-year-old son had been sold illegally to a man in Alabama, she recruited the help of the Van Wagenens and sued the new owner, all the way to the state Supreme Court.
In 1828, she got her son back after becoming the first black woman to successfully sue a white man.
The year before, she had become a Christian and helped with the founding and growth of several churches over many years. But things changed dramatically in 1843 when Belle felt God calling her to leave New York City and go into the countryside, testifying to her unflinching faith.
She changed her........