Thursday, January 31, 2008
Perspectives, 300 Assignment
Please read and respond to the article, "The Call to Service," by J. Hudson Taylor, beginning on page 300 in your Perspectives on the World Christian Movement book. You will be required to respond to at least one other student's comments to successfully complete this assignment. Please ensure that you put your name in parenthesis if you post anonymously.
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13 comments:
I enjoyed reading about Hudson Taylor’s call to service. I think it gives us a clear idea of what a call of God might look like, although for each person the call will be different. As he said, the presence of God became unutterably real and blessed … and lying there silent before Him with unspeakable awe and unspeakable joy. It is no small thing to be in the presence of, or called to serve, a holy omnipotent God. How can anyone speak of an indescribable God?
He said he never knew what kind of service he was being called to or for, only that he no longer belonged to himself. He had no option but to serve, go, and do. I think it is that way deliberately. If we were told what we were supposed to do we would rightly say “we cannot!” If we knew today, exactly when we would be stand before kings and testify of Christ or stand before murderers (or what ever terrifies you) such fear would grip our hearts so as to paralyze us for life, or at least run like Jonah. Maybe it would be in His good and perfect will that we be stoned to death for our faith. I don’t know about you but I do not like being called names much less stoned unconscious certainly not stoned to death. That is why we are called to live by faith because we are called to so something greater than we are able to do in our own flesh, or our own strength.
Probably ninety to ninety-five percent of the time our calling will be something that makes no sense, to us humanly speaking. God telling Abraham to go and leave everything he has ever known. Don’t worry about where you are going or how to get there or how long to get there, don’t worry about food, and oh yes bring your wife too. (Couldn’t you imagine that family meeting?) Noah, and Moses, and the prophets, could never imagine what they were getting themselves into. Probably those around us will not encourage us to do such seeming foolishness. Maybe even give the same advice, “Ah, my boy, as you grow older you will get wiser than that. Such an idea would do very well in the days when Christ Himself was on earth, but not now.”
(Mark A.)
Hudson Taylor is my favorite missionary. I read his autobiography when I first surrendered my life to fulltime ministry as a missionary. I learned a great many lessons from him. This passage was a part of that book. I had forgotten several parts of it and it was good to be reminded. I have often struggled with the total surrendering not just of myself to God, but of my family and friends. Taylor’s surrendering of himself is very inspiring, yet it is still difficult to make it a personal reality. I can personally identify with his parents reaction to his calling. My own mother has had this same response to my calling. It is very comforting to know that your parents are supportive in your decisions as long as it is God’s will for your life.
Hudson Taylor’s life was a testimony to his true heart for God and his willingness to follow God anywhere. He knew the amount of hardships that he would be facing and began to make himself ready for whatever God led him to. How often I think the opposite way, “if life is going to get harder I had better enjoy it now.” What very selfish and immature thinking. There is much to learn and Hudson Taylor’s writings are full of lessons.
Oh to have the amount of faith and trust in the Lord that Hudson Taylor had! Yet even he struggled at times. He was willing to entrust himself to God, but had difficulty in entrusting others lives to Him. This is an amazing struggle between doubt and trust. It helps to know that even the great missionaries have struggles like we do. It gives hope of great victories ahead. All one has to do is truly surrender themselves to God and follow Him wherever He leads. After all it is His work that we are doing.
(Meisha Deane)
(Thayer Lawson)
Hudson’s deep conviction to fill the empty “void”, after the joy of conversion passed away, led him to”…besought him to give me some work to do for him,” the work he sought to do was for God’s glory, not his own. He wanted God to receive the glory. After Hudson turned all of his worries over to God, literally, “cast all cares,” over to God; when he released the small contents that appeared to be the float or the element to keep him afloat, above water, God blessed him even more. Once he paid his tithes he assumed he wouldn’t be able to manage. But that’s when God is at work, when we see no outlet, no way out. Hudson’s mission in China was in process but he felt he needed more and was starting to be discouraged. But I’m here to tell you when you’re truly working on a mission for God, don’t fret yourself on needing anything to maintain the facility, needing anything to sustain your staff, needing anything to assist you in the mission; “God will provide,…” His staff was filled. His contents in the facility were filled. Everything he assumed he needed God provided for him.
Mark, I like how you used the calling of Abram, Moses and the others, as it relates to God calling us and we not knowing what to do, where we are going to do it, and when we are going to do it. We must always stay ready to do whatever God calls upon us to do. Sure majority of the time we would complain and say "I cannot," but God knows you're qualified to do the task at hand. All along Hudson was toiling and preparing for a mission he didn't even plan for or expected. God is the planner of all planners.
Meisha,
Interesting how neither Hudson’s family nor yours fully support the decision for the ministry. Must be the normal fear God has placed before entering any ministry, to scare away the faint of heart. My mother did not support me either. Her fear was if I could support my family. My wife also questions this at times. I have to admit I too have those fears. However, I can not base decisions on having all the questions answered first. If all the questions and fears were answered first then where is the faith. It is those very things that drive us to prayer and faith.
Mark
I neglected to put my name on my response to Mark's. (Thayer Lawson) February 3, 2008 12:53pm
Hudson Taylor knew what it meant to innovate during his time. He had doubts, he had worries, and was even scared, but still pressed on and did something so awesome for Jesus. I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be in China during a time of harsh persecution and hatred toward God. His dedication to God pushed him further in his work. He followed after a call that the Holy Spirit placed upon his life. We can take the same principles Hudson used and apply them to our culture today, and we must. He took what God had given him, and applied it directly to the culture. Let us learn from Hudson and innovate and flip our culture upside down for the cause of Christ. Let's always remember that missions can be accomplished through different methods. (John Hyman)
Meisha,
First of all, I am super excited that you are following God's call to foreign missions. Surrendering all is a growth process in our walk with Jesus. Meisha, you are one of the first missionaries I pray for because I believe that we share a very similar philosophy on missions. I pray that as your journey through the support process for missions, that God blesses you and softens the heart of your family. I believe that you know what it means to be an innovator, and to learn from our forefathers. Keep looking up, and surrendering will be easy.
(John Hyman)
Thayer your blog is of great encouragement to me. You said that when you’re working for God you need not worry about the needs to get the job done, for God is going to supply them. This has been my thought and desire, but often I find myself fretting over how God is going to provide for His work. Hudson Taylor’s faith in God provision when he tithed in obedience to God is faith we should all have. Yet when the exact amount for what we need is there it is easy to think that is God’s doing. May we always put obedience to God before our own comfort as Taylor did.
(Meisha Deane)
I was really encouraged by Hudson’s eloquently written story of his calling to serve the Master. I found it rather inspiring to see such a dependency upon the Lord in every aspect of life. So much that it began stir up a sense of boldness and courage within in my heart; staying devoted to what Christ has called me to do even unto death. As I was reading I was reminded of what Paul instructed Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4; Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. As good soldier enlisted by Christ, I will endure some sort of affliction whether it’s physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally. Ultimately, my aim in life should be to please the Master.
(Trey Hyman)
Meisha,
I was also very encouraged by response to this article. Testimonies can have such an effect on someone's life at specific point in their life. You hear your thoughts in someone else’s words and the Holy Spirit begins to convict your heart giving clarity to mind and then suddenly it clicks, reality. God has favor upon us. Who would have ever thought that an Almighty God could use something as low as me, but He does. That blows my mind every time I think about it. God will use you in a great and mighty way. Believe it!
(Trey Hyman)
YAY God! I youthfully can not think of a better way to sum this up. I love seeing God move through testimonies of people just like all of us. Sometimes I look back on past circumstances and chuckle. We see how great God is and how wonderfully He ALWAYS provides; yet as the difficulties come, we tend to so quickly forget. I graduated highschool when I was 16...3months later I followed God's call for me to go to ABC...many miles away from home. It was a crazy notion. Many told me I was a fool for various reasons. I did not know why or how things were going to happed; but I let go and let God. he has taken care of me over and beyond every step opf the way. that is not to say that is was never what I viewed as CLOSE...but He always has complete control of is all. Just as Taylor's call and life of tesimony proves; what he did for he and I; He will do for you!!!(beth)
Thayer, what an encouragement you are! so many times we forget how great God IS and become bogged down by the "pressing" needs of the time. Thank you for your reminder that God is in CONTROL and not to become discouraged due to not having all we want and when we feel that we need it! (Beth)
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