To the Golden Shore

I just finished reading a sobering page turner. “To the Golden Shore” a biography by Courtney Anderson about Adoniram Judson, leader of a group of the first missionaries sent out from the United States. They went to Burma (now Myanmar) and sowed their lives towards the salvation of its people.

I am still in that state of awe after reading a great biography in which my head spins. Grappling with the challenges presented by the life of such a dedicated man I know that the eternal purpose is the only one that counts.

On the one trip that he made back to the United States, before returning to finish his life in the work overseas, after over 30 years abroad he began sharing in churches. The people had read in missionary bulletins about the struggles and losses he faced so all the meetings were packed as they waited to hear more from the very mouth of the one who experienced it all. Yet this seasoned missionary only shared the gospel message. The people were polite enough, yet began to complain that they wanted to hear the stories. When tactfully approached about this he replied, “Well, I am sure I gave them a story – the most thrilling one that can be conceived of.” After he was told, “They wanted something new of a man who had just come from the antipodes,” he said, “Then I am glad they have it to say, that a man coming from the antipodes had nothing better to tell than the wondrous story of Jesus’ dying love.” (page 462)