Hudson Taylor

Dr. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword, August 1959

Preamble: Books! Ecclesiastes 12 tells us that… “of the making of books there is no end”. If that was true 3000 years ago, assuming that its traditional authorship and date are correct, how much more true is it today? With so many books to choose from, how does one decide which book to read and what to set aside? One popular way it to read books that come highly recommended by someone we trust. On this basis, “Hudson Taylor – The Man Who Believed God” comes within that category. You may ask, who was Hudson Taylor and how much do I know about him? Let Dr. Klaas Runia whet your appetite.

Hudson Taylor

Have you ever heard of Hudson Taylor? I would not be surprised, if you had not. It was the same with me, before I read the small, but precious book, that one of our New Zealand readers kindly sent me. The title of the book is: “THE MAN WHO BELIEVED GOD”, The Story of HUDSON TAYLOR, written by Marshall Broomhall.

I must say, it is a long time ago since I have read a book, that captivated me so much and also strengthened my own faith so much.

Hudson Taylor was the father of the China Inland Mission. As a young man of 21 years he left England in 1853 to sail for China. Officially he was sent by the Chinese Evangelisation Society, but in actual fact he had to do all his work on his own responsibility. Little help, both financial and spiritual, was given to him. But this young man was filled with a burning zeal for his Lord. He had but one passion: to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Chinese nation. His soul was burdened with a nearly unbearable burden, when he thought of the fact that “every day 33.000, every month 1.000.000 subjects of the Chinese Emperor pass into eternity, without even having heard the Gospel”. And he has spent all his life in bringing the message to China. In the first part of his life by personal mission work, in the last 25 years the builder of the organisation of the China Island Mission.

In all these activities he indeed was the man, who believed God. When you read this book, you see a man, who earnestly believed (and practised!), that we should hold God to his Word. More than once he himself stated that his life and his life’s work, were founded upon three facts, namely, that:

“There is a living God.

“He has spoken in the Bible.

“He means what He says, and will do all He has promised”.

Somewhere he wrote the following: “The living God still lives, and the living Word is a living Word, and we may depend upon it; we may hang upon any word that God ever spoke, or ever caused by His Holy Spirit to be written. Forty years ago I believed in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. I have proved them for forty years and my belief is stronger now than it was then. I have put the promises to the test. I have been compelled to do so, and I have found them true and trustworthy”.

“We want to impress upon you that the Word of God is God’s own Word. If I did not believe in the inspiration of a Bank of England note, if I was not quite sure whether the note that professed to be for £50 would be cashed for £5 of £50, it would not be worth very much to me…. What would you have thought if I had been foolish enough – nay, I might say dishonest enough – to part with it for less than it represented? I wish that I could say that I have been as faithful to the Word of God. Oh, how often I have discounted God’s promise and been surprised, almost, at getting a small part of that promise fulfilled, instead of expecting and claiming all”.

“But we can tell you something more than this. We have found that when our faith has broken down, even in God’s own Word, His faithfulness has not broken down, and that when we have been poor children, we have had a very kind Father, that when we have been unworthy servants, we have had a glorious Master. ‘If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself”.

It is striking that this man, who in our human opinion was so faithful, writes this about himself: “Oh, how often I have discounted God’s promise….”  For this is the man who in all his cares depended upon his God. When he had only a few shillings left and did not know how to maintain himself for the first couple of his days, he nevertheless gladly gave that money to somebody in need, expecting that the Lord would provide. And He did! When he needed fellow-labourers in the enormously vast Chinese field, he prayed to his Lord, and continued his work, trusting, even more: being certain that God would give them. And again He did.

Would that all our readers were going to buy this booklet. It is not expensive and yet so precious. I am sure that we of the Reformed Churches can learn much from this man, Hudson Taylor. In his life we see many truths of the Bible verified and realised. It would be a great blessing, if this same spirit, which is the fruit of ThE SPIRIT, also invaded our Churches. Many of our ‘regular complaints would disappear as snow before the sun.

We intend to Quote some of Hudson Taylor’s most striking words in the coming issues of “Trowel and Sword”. And we do hope that all our readers, both in New Zealand and in Australia will study them, reflect upon them and. take them to heart. 

K. Runia.

*Editor’s Note: This “small booklet” (264 pages) can still be purchased – both new and pre-owned. If you are interested, ebay would be a good place to start looking.

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