Preparing for Hardship
Here is a letter written from a young man to the parents of the girl he wants to marry. The language is a little old fashioned but that’s not what takes you back as you read it.
“I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of Burma; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God?”
The year was 1810. Somewhat surprisingly for the day, the parents let their daughter decide and she married the writer, Adoniram Judson, to become America’s first missionaries sent to a foreign land.
Doesn’t the way the writer sees his future contrast with the way we see ours? We want it easy and complain when it’s not. We don’t want, don’t expect, and most times won’t even put up with hardship. We’ve become soft. We’ve become easy pickings for the devil.
When Adoniram Judson, began his mission in Burma, he set a goal of translating the Bible and founding a church of 100 members. When he died, he left the Bible in Burmese, 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers.
Where are people like this today?
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