As a homeschooling family, we get the opportunity to incorporate the biographies of missionaries into our curriculum. This has been the biggest blessing, not only to our children who love to hear the stories, but also to me. This week, as we were hurrying to finish up the school day and move on to our next venture in the day, we read a story in our book the has really challenged us. This isn't a new theme, as God seems to be relaying this message to us through Bible study and through our pastor's messages. God has been telling us to make our time count. Don't waste any precious minutes because they may be our last opportunity to share Jesus with a soul who doesn't know Him. Or, Jesus may return and we would be out of time. He said to work while there is day because night comes when no man can work. Also, He tells us that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, so pray for God to send out more laborers into the harvest.
My eyes and heart were opened as we read this past week about the missionary, Hudson Taylor. We have all heard the importance of missions our whole lives and some even answer the missionary call, but this story really took hold of my heart and a new fire to share the gospel was ignited. I had to share with Rick, who was equally as touched by the story.
Hudson Taylor was a missionary to Ningpo, China. He had a heart for the people there, but he had a heart for Jesus. He believed that God would supply everything he needed, he just had to ask. God always supplied everything right on time, just as he has promised us in His Word. If you never have read his biography, it is so great. I highly recommend it. The part I wanted to share was one particular instance in Taylor's ministry. He had been preaching in Ningpo for a year with no one taking the gospel seriously. He was severely disheartened and wanted to give up, when a highly respected Chineseman shared his testimony about how he and his father and his grandfathers had searched for truth their whole lives, looking into Confucianism, Taosim, and Buddhism. He said they had never found peace in any of those, but that night, this man gave his heart to The Lord. A few nights later, he asked Taylor how long the people where he was from had known about Jesus. Taylor told him they had known for hundreds of years. The man was so hurt and said that his father and grandfather had died searching for this truth and never found it. He wanted to know why he had waited so long to share it. This former Buddhist lived out the Great Commission from that point on telling everyone he met about Jesus because he knew first hand the importance of sharing this truth.
I know that a lot of times we get caught up in our day to day activities that lost people going to Hell just don't cross our mind. But, God is touching someone's heart and causing them to search for Him. It is our job to be so in tune with Him, that everything else pales in light of what we are to be doing for the Kingdom. I pray that we would have a passion to see others around us come to Jesus and that we would start in Jersualem, go out into Judea and then out into the ends of the earth. After all, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time." Carl F. H. Henry
Where would God have you work for Him? Ask Him what you should be doing for Him and He just might surprise you at who you are to be sharing with.
