Bump! Bump!
Thump!
Fourteen-year old Amelia Taylor ran to the stairs to see what was causing all
the commotion. “Hudson! What in the world are you doing with your feather bed?”
Amelia’s seventeen-year-old brother looked down the stairs with a smile. “I’m
getting rid of it--they don’t have comfortable mattresses in China, you know!”
“Getting rid of it? Mother is not going to like this!”
“Oh, she’ll come ‘round. Remember, China was Mother and Father’s idea in the
first place! People there don’t have it as good as we do--sleeping on hard
boards ought to toughen me up.”
Amelia jumped
aside as the heavy mattress landed on the kitchen floor. “I’ll help you drag it
outside,” she said. “Let’s store it in the shed in case you change your mind.
Those hard boards are going to be awfully uncomfortable!”
When he was born, Hudson Taylor’s parents had dedicated him to serve God in
China. At age eighteen, Hudson felt the call to China and began getting ready.
Now that Hudson was doing all he could to get ready for China, Mrs. Taylor grew
concerned. Getting up extra early every day to study was one thing, but going
out into the cold for rigorous exercise was another matter.
“Hudson, you’ll catch your death of pneumonia! Come in and sit by the fire,”
she begged. Hudson had been a sickly and weak child, so Mrs. Taylor had
pampered him for many years.
“Now Mother, don’t worry,” Hudson replied. “I’m feeling stronger already! The
outdoor air and hard work are just what I need.”
Reluctantly, Mrs. Taylor allowed Hudson to follow his plans. He rose early to
study languages; he exercised outside; and he learned to live with few
comforts. God even provided Hudson with a way to learn medicine so he’d be
better able to serve people in China. But there were some lessons that only
life’s trials could teach the young man. Hudson wanted to learn to trust God
and follow His voice before heading to China. This would take some practice.
One day young Hudson walked through a dirty, crowded street in the town of
Hull, England. Reaching into his pocket, he felt his last coin. “Lord, please
remind Dr. Hardey to pay me. My rent is due soon and I’ve only a bit of food.
This coin won’t last but a few days. Help me to trust in you, Lord.”
Hudson walked on when a man who recognized him as the doctor’s assistant
grabbed his arm. “My wife’s in there an’ she needs help.” Hudson was quick to
respond. His heart went out to people in need, and this man’s need was obvious.
When they came to the grimy door, a boy opened it a crack, his hollow eyes
staring into Hudson’s. He’d seen that hopeless look far too many times before.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m studying to be a doctor,” he said. “Your father brought me to see your
mother.” The boy swung the door open and stepped back to let Hudson and his dad
pass.
The smells of unwashed bodies and tobacco smoke rose to meet him. Hudson walked
across the single room to a cot on which the mother lay. Four other children
huddled in the shadows, dressed in tattered clothes, too hungry to move. A newborn
baby lay next to the poor mother. It didn’t take Hudson long to realize there
was no hope for the woman. He hung his head, knowing there was nothing medicine
could do.
“Please, won’t you pray for her?” The husband’s voice came from the doorway.
“Yes, of course,” Hudson replied. Even as he asked the Lord to send them food
and heal the mother, he became aware of the coin in his pocket. He knew he
should give it to her so that she could get something to eat, but it was his
very last money and he would soon be hungry, too! Hudson knew that he should
give them some of his clothes and money, but then where would he be? Could he
trust God to take care of his needs if he gave his belongings to others? He
felt no peace until he stopped arguing with himself, took off his coat and
sweater, and handed them over to the mother, along with the coin.
“God bless you,” she whispered, eyes filling with tears. And He did. Hudson
left with only a song in his heart to keep him warm.
The next day the mailman handed him a letter. When he opened it, the envelope
contained four times as much money as he had given that family! He learned a
lesson that would help him again and again in his work in China--as he cared
for others in Christ’s name, he could trust God’s provision! Hudson would trust
in this principle during the years to come.
The town of Hangzhou, China was bustling for the Chinese New Year in 1867. A
new missionary family was just arriving to serve with the China Inland Mission.
As they made their way among the noisy street vendors, they saw a strange sight
ahead. An Englishman, wearing Chinese clothing and a long Chinese pigtail,
stood on a table outside the mission clinic. It was Hudson Taylor preaching to
a gathering of Chinese people.
Hudson had first arrived in China 13 years before, in 1854. He had surprised
other missionaries with his decision to dress like the Chinese, but he had
caused an even bigger uproar when he decided to give up the comfort of living
in the cities in order to reach the poorest people in the middle of China.
Hudson paused from his preaching just long enough to wave and smile at the new
missionaries. He’d been expecting them, for he had prayed for 24 new workers,
and he knew God answers prayer! These new recruits would be joining the others
in making great personal sacrifice to further the Gospel. Yet as Hudson Taylor
continued to pray over the years, more and more missionaries came to serve.
Hudson served in China for over 50 years, and eventually there were enough missionaries
to realize his goal of reaching all 18 provinces of China. Now that’s the
result of living as a humble follower of Christ! He was willing to give up his
privileges and comforts, demonstrating humility. He once said, “Let us in
everything not sinful become like the Chinese that by all means we may save
some.”
China today needs missionaries who can demonstrate humility and serve the
Chinese people. Over one billion people live in China’s cities. Who will go and
serve them with love of Christ?
Application
How was Hudson
Taylor humble in his approach to missions? (Did not consider himself or his
culture (England) more important than the people that he ministered to.) How
can we serve our family and friends with this same attitude?
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