Preaching about the cross sounds foolish to those who are dying in sin. But it is the power of God to those of us who are being saved from the punishment of sin. 1 Corinthians 1:18 NLV
Could you devote your life to serving and ministering to others even if you never saw any results from it?
Consider American missionary Adoniram Judson. He arrived in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1812, feeling like God had called him to preach the Gospel. During his 38 years there, he went through periods of imprisonment and torture. He suffered from depression so great when his wife, Anna, died that he wrote, “God to me is the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I cannot find him.”
There were few conversions because of his work, yet he pressed on, translating the Bible into the Burmese language which he completed in 1834. At the time of his death, there was only a handful of professing Christians in the entire country and no organized churches. Some would see that as a waste of his life.
But not God!
On the 150th anniversary of the Bible translation, Paul Borthwick addressed a group of people who gathered in a church in Myanmar. He asked about the inscription in the front of the Bible: “Translated by Rev. A. Judson.”
His interpreter began to weep and said, “We know him. We know how he loved the Burmese people; how he suffered for the gospel because of us, out of love for us. He died a pauper, but left the Bible for us. When he died there were few believers, but today there are over 600,000 of us, and every single one of us traces our spiritual heritage to one man: the Rev. Adoniram Judson.”
Like Judson, we may never see the fruit of our labors. But the God of grace who oversees our work will ensure that our labor is not pointless.
Thank you Lord.
Consider American missionary Adoniram Judson. He arrived in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1812, feeling like God had called him to preach the Gospel. During his 38 years there, he went through periods of imprisonment and torture. He suffered from depression so great when his wife, Anna, died that he wrote, “God to me is the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I cannot find him.”
There were few conversions because of his work, yet he pressed on, translating the Bible into the Burmese language which he completed in 1834. At the time of his death, there was only a handful of professing Christians in the entire country and no organized churches. Some would see that as a waste of his life.
But not God!
On the 150th anniversary of the Bible translation, Paul Borthwick addressed a group of people who gathered in a church in Myanmar. He asked about the inscription in the front of the Bible: “Translated by Rev. A. Judson.”
His interpreter began to weep and said, “We know him. We know how he loved the Burmese people; how he suffered for the gospel because of us, out of love for us. He died a pauper, but left the Bible for us. When he died there were few believers, but today there are over 600,000 of us, and every single one of us traces our spiritual heritage to one man: the Rev. Adoniram Judson.”
Like Judson, we may never see the fruit of our labors. But the God of grace who oversees our work will ensure that our labor is not pointless.
Thank you Lord.
1 comment:
I always glean a lot from historical lessons about the individuals who contributed to and shaped the modern faith. This also puts in perspective for me the pain and hardships I have endured and am still undergoing.
Thank you.
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