Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.

1 Corinthians 9:16

I am concluding my third reading of what has become one of my favorite missionary biographies: For the Love of India: The Life of Henry Martyn. I received as much from it in my third reading as I did in my first. Martyn was a missionary to India and Persia in the early 1800’s. He was a scholar of the first rate in his native England, with the opportunity upon the completion of his studies to stay and teach at Cambridge University in Mathematics, Latin, or the Classics (the offer was essentially, “You choose and we will plug you in”), yet chose instead to leave England forever and preach the gospel to, and translate the Scriptures for, the people of India and Persia.

Here is what struck me most in this latest reading:

• Henry Martyn loved God, and it showed in his wholehearted devotion to Christ. He left behind a woman he loved and hoped to marry, his family, and a promising career. He faced down his fear of the unknown, sea travel, and his own introverted nature, setting off for India, all due not to a promise of riches and fame, but to a promise of deprivation and obscurity. His love for God was profound.

• He used his God-given gifts. Martyn knew that he was not terribly gifted as a preacher, although he longed to be. He learned to accept that fact and turned instead to personal evangelism and translation work, gifts he possessed in great abundance.

• He lived out Philippians 2:12-13: "...Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, to will and to act according to his good pleasure." Martyn was constantly striving to be a better Christian, but never confused good works with salvation. He trusted God and went to work, disciplining his body and keeping it under control, lest after preaching to others he himself might be disqualified for the prize (1 Cor. 9:27). God, in return, used him in mighty ways.

• When he believed God was saying "go," he went. There was much to keep him tied to England, and he would have been a fine Christian had he remained, but he chose to go. The burden God gave him for the lost in Persia and India would not fade, and he took that pressing burden as a sign that his life and work needed to be poured out for those who had not yet heard the good news.

Reading a good Christian biography recharges my batteries. It challenges me to do better. It encourages me to believe that every day Christians can have an impact on the kingdom work of God. It reminds me that there are believers out there who really do take God at his word and really do believe that it is wise to remember that "Here we do not have an enduring city, but we look forward to the city that is to come" (Heb. 13:14).

Most of us are not called to leave everything and head for the mission field. I went, and then returned, and believe that I am right where I am supposed to be. Nevertheless, I still get inspired by those who trust and obey God to go when almost everything else tells them to stay (to the international mission field or right here in the United States). As we have been considering in our short “Servant King” preaching series, Jesus himself, in great humility, submitted himself fully to the Father’s will. Going, at times, where logic would tell him not to go. Yet obedience cried out even louder, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

Our missions ministry continues to grow here at LifePoint, both in funding and in sending and equipping. We are seeing both inspiring and important work accomplished. I feel blessed to have the privilege of giving so that others can go. I hope you do as well.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym