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A Young Man Called Hudson
by Louise Lee Hudson had a dream. "When I become a man, I want to be a missionary to China," Hudson piped up when he was four. No one admired his dream. It was not a dream of a better life but a life of discomfort and poverty. At his time, China was a far-away land in the east. She has a huge population of yellow skin people. The people in China spoke strange language; their men wore long braided bony tails; their women wrapped their feet into tiny little triangles. Furthermore, there was constant internal war in China during that time. It was certainly not a dreamt place to go to. "Would a four-year old mean what he said?" Hardly anyone took him seriously except Hudson's dad and mom. Indeed, it was what they prayed for their son before his birth, "Dear God, if you would give us a son, let him work for you in China." Hudson was born in 1832 in Yorkshire, England. He and his two sisters were raised in a God fearing home. Like some of you, his bedtime stories are mostly Bible stories. He followed his dad and mom to Church every Sunday. They taught him all that he needed to know about God. As Hudson reached his teenage years, he started to feel restless in his parents' faith. "How could I do what the Bible taught? It is too difficult. I rather live this life happily. What's the use of a religion? " Hudson once exclaimed. Jesus has not come into his life and yet to be his best friend until that day in June 1849. Hudson was then seventeen years old. On that day, his mother was away from home for an "extended visit". He missed his mother very much. He tried to find something interesting to read from the house. "The finished work of Christ", Hudson said to himself as he picked up a tract from one corner of the house. "Why did the writer use these words?" he questioned. "What was finished?" "A full and perfect cleansing and exchange for sin," his heart replied. "The debt of sins was fully paid by Jesus who died on the cross. It is not just for ours but also for the world." All of a sudden, what he learnt from the Bible came back to his mind. "If the whole work is finished, the whole debt was paid, what is it there left for me to do?" "To accept Jesus as the Saviour and have a personal relationship with him," Hudson concluded that day. He felt an overwhelming joy and peace in his heart. Old doubt and fear had gone. Now he had Jesus his Saviour and his dear friend. He also gave his life to serve Him. When Hudson's mother returned, she was in tears. She told him, "My boy, I knew you found Jesus. He told me so. I was praying for your salvation when I was away." God has been serious about Hudson's dream of going to China, and now, so did Hudson himself. He knew that going to China required him to be tough. To better prepare himself, he left the comfort of his home to work for a doctor in Drainside, a poverty-stricken place in England. There he could acquire some medical skill. He could also gain some experience that could help him to adjust to life in China. He started to exercise in the open air. He also exchanged his feathered bed for a hard mattress. He also prepared himself to trust God for all the financial needs. His employer suggested to him one day, "Hudson, please do remind me when it is time to pay your salary. I'm so busy, you know, I'm quite likely to forget." And he did forget when the time came. Instead of reminding him, Hudson prayed, "Dear God, remind him to pay my salary!" Three weeks later, Hudson was broke. He left with no money to pay his rent. He had no money for food, but yet he still believed God would supply his needs. He chose not remind the doctor but trust God would move men through prayer. One the night he worked after 10pm to avoid his landlord, the doctor surprised him, "Guess what? One of my richest patients came to pay his bill. Why not you just take these notes with you, I will pay you your salary next week." Hudson's prayers were answered. He could not only pay his rent, he had money for weeks ahead but more than that, he had proven again. God answers prayer and moves men. He had the faith in a God who could bring him to China. On 1 March 1854, at the age of 21 years and 10 months old, Hudson finally reached China. Did you know who this Hudson was? He was Hudson Taylor, the most widely known missionary in China's history. He spent 51 years serving in China. His China Inland Mission established 20 mission stations, brought 849 missionaries to the field, trained some 700 Chinese works, raised four million dollars by faith, and developed a witnessing Chinese church of 125,000. Did you learn something from his life? Louise Lee www.louiseleewrites.com (My first illustrated book Psalm 23 for Kids is now available at amazon.com) http://www.amazon.com/Psalm-23-Kids-Louise-Lee/dp/1482829975 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |