Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. [Psalm 51:1 (KJV)]
I suspect we would prefer a eulogy that shines a light on our victories and accomplishments but the man known as “the father of modern missions” chose otherwise. When William Carey [1762-1834] was asked what text he wanted for his funeral sermon, he chose today’s verse. The humble man wanted to shine a light on God’s lovingkindness and great compassion rather than his personal accomplishments.
Convinced that Jesus’ words in the Great Commission were a binding command on every generation of Christ’s followers, Carey contended that 18th century Christians were as called to take the gospel to foreign lands as were the 1st century Apostles. While this may seem obvious to us today, back in 1786 the prevailing view was that God would bring the nations to Christ without human assistance. Told by some that God didn’t need (or want) his help in converting the “heathens,” others argued that distance, barbarism, dangers, supply issues, and unintelligible languages made foreign missions unfeasible. Carey, however, remained determined to spread the gospel abroad. Eventually, what became known as the Baptist Missionary Society was formed and, in 1793, William Carey and John Thomas were appointed missionaries to the East Indies.
When they arrived in colonial Calcutta, the men faced stiff opposition from the East India Company along with poverty, illness, loneliness, domestic issues, and the deaths of friends and family, but Carey never lost heart. Determined to spread the gospel, he wanted more than converts; Carey wanted to develop apostles! To that purpose, in 1818 he and his colleagues founded Serampore College in West Bengal. While the college’s primary goal was to train indigenous ministers, both believers and unbelievers from all castes were welcome. Fierce critics of the caste system, infanticide, and suttee (widows burning themselves upon their late husbands’ funeral pyres), the missionaries labored tirelessly for the welfare of all Indians. Carey’s greatest contribution to Christ was his work as a translator. A cobbler by training, this self-taught man (whose only degree was an honorary one) translated the entire Bible into six Indian languages and portions of Scripture into 29 others! Carey’s approach to missions combined evangelism with translation, education, social reform, and health care. That same holistic approach remains a model for Christian missionaries today.
William Carey served 41 years in India without a furlough but, even before his death, his name was well known and people started collecting mementos of him. Carey’s contemporary, John Newton (evangelist, abolitionist, and author of “Amazing Grace”) said of him, “I look to such a man with reverence. He is more to me than bishop or archbishop; he is an apostle.” Yet, when this man who was a legend before his time lay dying in 1834, he gave a fellow missionary these instructions: “When I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey. Speak about Dr. Carey’s Savior.”
Suspecting that someday his biography would be written, Carey gave his nephew this criterion for judging its correctness: “If he give me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”
Indeed, Carey was a plodder—it took him seven years to get support for his mission and another seven years passed before he baptized his first convert! Nevertheless, he never lost faith in God’s call to him. Twelve years after establishing the Mission Press in Serampore, the print shop and office burnt to the ground. Type sets for fourteen different languages, vast quantities of paper, dictionaries, and Carey’s entire library along with his completed Sanskrit dictionary, part of his Bengal dictionary, two grammar books, and ten translations of the Bible were destroyed. Even that setback did not deter the plodder. “The loss is heavy” he said, “but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease than the first time, I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged…. We are cast down but not in despair.” Indeed, within a few months, the resilient man set up shop and started over again!
A plodder, Carey converted one soul at a time, learned new languages one word at a time, translated the Bible one verse at a time, paid the bills one rupee at a time, and walked the road God set before him one step at a time. God doesn’t call us to be fast; He calls us to be faithful! As Charles Spurgeon said, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Can we do any less?
When reading about William Carey, I couldn’t help but wonder at how easily we allow disappointment, disillusionment, and setbacks to intimidate, dishearten, and overwhelm us in our daily walk as believers. But, for William Carey, it never was about him—it always was about Jesus! He kept his eyes on Christ as he plodded along; let us do the same.
I feel it my duty to plod on while daylight last. [William Carey]
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. [1 Corinthians 14:58 (KJV)]
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. [Galatians 6:9 (KJV)]
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