Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821. When she was a young girl, her brother fell off the barn roof and was badly hurt. Clara, although only ten years old, nursed him for two whole years until he was healthy again.
Clara was a very good student, but she was so painfully shy that her parents worried about her. Then, when she finished school at the age of 17, she started working as a teacher, teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in Massachusetts. Teaching helped her overcome her shyness. She was a good teacher, too, known for her ability to have her students do well without having to punish them. She also started and taught at the first free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey. When someone else took over that school, she became a clerk working for the United States government. That was an unusual job for a woman to have in those days.
Then, the Civil War broke out in the United States. The Union army from the North fought the Confederate Army from the South. The first major battle was the First Battle of Bull Run in Virginia. It was a terrible battle and many soldiers died. Then hundreds of injured soldiers started to limp into Washington D.C. They had no place to go, so they just lay down on the sides of the streets. At that time only men were allowed to be doctors. There were very few of them, and they didn’t have enough medical supplies to treat all the wounded.
Clara Barton saw the terrible suffering of these soldiers and knew she had to do something. She started going into stores and businesses, asking people to donate anything that might be used for bandages. Then she started caring for the wounded. She didn’t stop there. Clara put an ad in the newspaper asking for medical donations. So many donations poured in that they filled the building where she lived.
Throughout the war, which lasted four long years, Clara Barton kept working hard to help the soldiers. She filled wagons with medical supplies and took the wagons into the battle zones herself. As Clara tended the sick and wounded, entering the battlefields, she was in danger, too. One time she was caring for a wounded soldier on the edge of a battlefield and a bullet passed right through the sleeve of her dress. But danger didn’t stop Clara! She worked hard, cleaning the soldiers’ wounds so they would heal properly. She also spent time talking to the soldiers, trying to comfort them. She became known as the Angel of the Battlefield because of all the lives she saved and all the people she helped.
After the Civil War ended, Clara worked for a relief organization called the International Red Cross and eventually started the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross continues to this day, helping those in need in war zones and wherever there are natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.
Clara Barton was what we think of as a true hero. In the way that she brought relief to thousands of injured soldiers, she makes me think of Someone who is far greater, Someone who came into this world to save all those who couldn’t save themselves from hell. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
When He lived on this earth, the Lord Jesus healed blind people’s eyes, made lame people able to walk, healed people who had leprosy, and even restored life to dead people. But much more important and wonderful than all the wonderful miracles He did was when He gave His life on the cross to save sinners. On the cross Jesus suffered and died and His blood was shed to bring forgiveness to all of us who are wounded by sin. The death of Jesus meant so much to God that He raised Him from the dead, and now He is willing to forgive the sins of every person who will believe in the name of His Son. “God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:3232And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)).
We often honor the name of people who have done great things. What Clara Barton did earned her the name of “The Angel of the Battlefield.” What she did was very admirable. But what the Lord Jesus did is not only admirable but is so great that He deserves to be adored by everyone. Will you believe in and honor His wonderful name? “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and ... every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-1110That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10‑11)).
Messages of God’s Love 4/6/2025