2 Corinthians 5:14
Rejecting the Word
Charles T. Studd gave himself without reservation to Christ. He was born into a wealthy British family in 1862. He became an outstanding cricket player, most notably at Cambridge University. In his third year at the university, he was converted at a Moody-Sankey meeting and dedicated his life to Christ. Author Stanley Collins explains, “The world was at his feet, as had been forecast and expected, when suddenly the whole picture changed. He announced he was giving away his personal fortune, leaving the world of sports, and becoming a missionary to China.” For 9 years, Studd served with Hudson Taylor’s mission until poor health forced him to return to England in 1894. A few years later, a growing burden led him to begin plans to open Africa from the Nile to the Niger for missions. He left for the continent in 1910, and in 1919 he established the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade. Studd explained his motivation in these words: “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice that I make can be too great for Him.” - R.W.D.
Love of Christ
When Hudson Taylor was director of the China Inland Mission, he often interviewed candidates for the mission field. On one occasion, he met with a group of applicants to determine their motivations for service. “And why do you wish to go as a foreign missionary?” he asked one. “I want to go because Christ has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” was the reply. Another said, “I want to go because millions are perishing without Christ.” Others gave different answers.
Then Hudson Taylor said, “All of these motives, however good, will fail you in times of testings, trials, tribulations, and possible death. There is but one motive that will sustain you in trial and testing; namely, the love of Christ.”
Love Constrains Us
A missionary in Africa was once asked if he really liked what he was doing. His response was shocking. “Do I like this work?” he said. “No. My wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonable refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse. But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? God pity him, if not. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to ‘Go,’ and we go. Love constrains us.”
No Angle
In response to a reporter’s question, a missionary talked about the hardships of his work as a physician in a distant land. Probing, the reporter asked, “Why would an educated man like you dedicate his life to a work like that?” The missionary replied, “Because a man who loves God comes to love the people God has sent him to help.”
The skeptical reporter continued, “but what other reasons do you have?” “None that I’m aware of.”
Later the reporter said, “I still don’t know what makes a man like that tick. Everybody has to have an angle.”