It is interesting to me how many biographies are included in Scripture. Biographies are particularly useful in helping us see how someone gets from Point A to Point B. It's one thing for me to read about the amazing things God does through someone's life. I tend to think, "Well, that's great. But I can't get there from here." In a well written biography, we get to watch the consequences of choices made and how those consequences direct that life. In this biography of Hudson Taylor, the reader gets to watch as God does His work in the life a "regular guy." It is because of the choices Taylor makes that the Lord is later able to change the world through him.
As I read about the early part of Hudson Taylor's life, it was easy to relate to him. He was just a normal man living a normal life. The significant point of this period in his spiritual walk was watching as he was presented with choices. It was because he recognized that EVERY choice mattered that he began to grow spiritually. He learned to be faithful over the small, seemingly insignificant things and the Lord continually increased the responsibilities entrusted to him. To watch his faith grow made my faith grow. He understood that those choices we make when no one else is watching reveal the most about our character.
It is so imperative that we recognize the moment of decision. Too many times, I have been swept along in the rush of the moment and have not consciously made a choice. It is when I stop and realize that I am actually being presented with a choice that I clearly see the options before me. If I just react and choose, I may pick the "okay" option. If, however, I look closely, there is almost always a "best" option. Without intentionality, I often miss the very best. It may not be a question of right or wrong. It may, and usually is, a question of better or best. If I recognize that my rate of spiritual growth is directly related to the quality of my choices, the import of each one becomes much more evident.
As parents, this principle is crucial to impart to our children. They tend to do the same thing I do: brush past the moment of choice without recognizing it. Everything I think, say, and do reflects character. My heart is revealed in my choices. What a blessing when our children understand this principle at an early age. Every revelation of a lack of character in our children is an opportunity for us to teach them what is revealed about the condition of their heart.
I can't attribute the source of this quote, but it has always stuck with me: You do what you value and you value what you do. If I say something is important to me, but my choices don't reflect that, then is it really important to me? I have to answer, "no." I am merely paying lip-service to that value in my life. Ouch! The Lord is stepping on all ten of my toes again!
For example, I say that I value Truth. Does my life reflect that? Of course, I try not to lie but is my motivation to be truthful? Or do I say what is technically true, without revealing what is really in my heart? Do I speak the specific information that can leave me looking "righteous" and leave unsaid what is actually more true? I may not speak a lie, but actually deceive by what I left unsaid. If I desire to choose the very best in my thoughts, words, and actions then I must let the Lord refine me completely, down to the motives of my heart. He slowly peels back the layers of my soul and lovingly shows me how to better reflect Christ. The more I am emptied of self, the more I can be filled with Him!!
This is where Hudson Taylor proved to be so very faithful. Over the years of his life, he grew more and more into the image of Christ. It changed him, the nation of China, and rippled across a large part of the world. He served the Lord's Kingdom in China for decades and through the Lord's Power, many found salvation. The fabric of that nation was fundamentally altered for generations. For more than 50 years, the sun never rose without finding Hudson Taylor already on his knees interceding before the throne of God for that nation.
Taylor was so committed to following the Lord's will in the smallest detail that he never let the physical or financial needs of his ministry be known. He believed that the Lord would direct and guide him through miraculous provision. Story after story is related in the book of how the Lord sent exactly what was needed at the very moment it was required without anyone knowing about the need. Taylor believed that the Lord would always provide whatever was necessary to accomplish His Will.
One particular story told of him later in life is my favorite. He was asked to return to the West at times to give a report of the Lord's work in China. I don't remember the specific location, but he was scheduled to speak to a large gathering of people at a church building. They were all assembled, eagerly anticipating his message and report from the East. As he walked down the aisle to the front of the room, every person in the room began to weep! He didn't speak a single word. It wasn't necessary. The man was so emptied of self and filled with the Spirit of God that the crowd was overcome. To be in the Presence of Holiness has a profound effect. It changes everything!
The testimony given through Hudson Taylor's life of the Lord's Faithfulness changed me. It caused a hunger for holiness in my spirit. It helped me grow in my walk before the Lord. As the years have passed, the edge has worn off that hunger. I have become more complacent. It's time to read the book again!
Lord, stir me again. Cause me to hunger for purity and holiness before You. Help me desire Truth in the innermost places. Empty me of self and fill me with Yourself.
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