HTSS: Chapter 2
November 4, 2008 – 5:17 pm
Chapter 2: Soul-Growth in the Early Years
Summary
Chapter two unfolds the events that led to young Hudson’s conversion and growth in grace. His regeneration experience occurred while he was alone, in “a favorite corner in the old warehouse” [his father owned a store] reading a Christian booklet from his father’s library. His mother, meanwhile, was miles away and felt “specially burdened” to pray for her only boy, specifically for his salvation.
As he was reading, a phrase jumped out at him: “The finished work of Christ.” He pondered why the author chose to use those words instead of “the atoning or propitiatory work of Christ.” As he was musing about what was actually finished, his heart replied, “A full and perfect atonement for sin. The debt was paid by the great Substitute. ‘Christ died for our sins’ and ‘not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.’” He was then confronted with his responsibility to answer the question, “If the whole work is finished, the whole debt is paid, what is there left for me to do?” He realized that there was only one legitimate response: “to fall upon my knees and accepting this Saviour [ibid] and His salvation to praise Him for evermore.”
And thus J Hudson Taylor was a converted young man. Dr. Howard Taylor reports that “great was the change that new life brought.” In response to the news of his conversion upon her return home, his mother replied “I know, my boy, I know. I have been rejoicing for a fortnight, in the glad news you have to tell.” He later realized that his sister had been praying for his conversion as well. Dr. Taylor describes the siblings joy in their new relationship in Christ - “they entered from the very first into the Lord’s own yearning of heart over the lost and perishing. Not ‘social service,’ but a living for others with a supreme concern for their soul’s salvation was the line on which they were led out.”
Though he naturally struggled with the “ups and downs as with most young Christians,” Taylor’s love for Christ “made it such a keen distress to fail in the old ways and lose the joy of His conscious presence.” It is written that for him “to go without [the real and constant enjoyment of God's presence] was to live without sunlight, to work without power.” His adoration for his Sovereign, all-wise God is revealed in statements such as “confessing my grateful love to Him who had done everything for me, who had saved me when I had given up all hope and even desire for salvation, I besought Him to give me some work to do for Him as an outlet for love and gratitude…”
Editorial
3 Reminders:
1. It is the Spirit of God that saves.
2. The Spirit uses the Word of God to save.
3. The prayer of a saint is effective in God’s work of saving other sinners.
Though we cannot fully understand how these three elements interrelate in God’s sovereign work of regeneration, we must embrace them all and rejoice that God chooses to save sinners and use us as his agents of bringing the good news to others.
It seems clear from young Hudson’s account that he acknowledged that it was the Spirit that brought life to his dead soul; that it was not of works or a perfectly phrased prayer or any other external action nor of any internal “willpower,” but by God’s sovereign choosing “when [he]had given up all hope or even desire for salvation.” Hudson’s son writes that “truth long familiar, though neglected, came back to mind and heart” as he was confronted with the phrase “the finished work of Christ” in the pamphlet. That is the work of the Spirit, the drawing of a soul to repentance and faith in the Savior.
The Rich Soil of a Young Saint’s Heart
It is imperative that we not discredit the spiritual growth of a youth. No matter the age, if God has placed His Spirit in a person’s heart, they will produce fruit. We ought to encourage and foster their growth in holiness and righteousness. God might call from the midst of your church a young “Hudson Taylor” who will affect an entire foreign region for eternity, or touch lives in his local community for his entire life the sake of the gospel. We would do well to heed Paul’s words to Timothy to not look down on a youth’s “youthfulness” (1 Tim 4:12).
106 years ago this November, J. Hudson Taylor resigned as Director of the China Inland Mission. He left behind a legacy to all believers, particularly those involved in missions works in mainland China. Missions Mandate will highlight Taylor’s life and ministry during the month of November.
Each work day of the month of November I will post a summary of one chapter of Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor’s classic book Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. Dr. Howard Taylor was the second son of J. Hudson Taylor, and followed in his father’s footsteps as a pioneer missionary, speaker and author.
