Love Lost for the Cause of Christ: Three Missionaries and Their Sacrifices for the Great Commission

By Will Brooks

In many ways, sacrifice is a prerequisite for obeying the Great Commission. When we examine the lives of "missionary heroes," we immediately notice their willingness to sacrifice comforts that contemporary believers consider necessities. One of these areas of sacrifice was in their love lives. In different ways, the three missionaries discussed in this book willingly gave up the opportunity of "true love" for the sake of advancing the gospel into unengaged areas. Embracing Christ's command to "deny oneself" (Luke 9:23), these believers gave up the chance of earthly happiness for the sake of heavenly reward.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Aug 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532635601

Will Brooks

Will Brooks has a PhD from Southern Seminary and teaches missions and New Testament interpretation at two seminaries in Asia. At one of those seminaries, he serves as the associate provost and director of the DMiss and intercultural studies programs. He is also the author of Love Lost for the Cause of Christ and the coeditor of World Mission.

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Love Lost for the Cause of Christ

Three Missionaries and Their Sacrifices for the Great Commission

Will Brooks

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Love Lost for the Cause of Christ

Three Missionaries and Their Sacrifices for the Great Commission

Copyright © 2018 Will Brooks. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Wipf & Stock

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-3559-5

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-3561-8

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-3560-1

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 09/25/18

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Love and the Cause of Christ

Chapter 2: Love Postponed: Henry Martyn

Chapter 3: Love Surrendered: Lottie Moon

Chapter 4: Love Sacrificed: Hudson Taylor

Chapter 5: Love for Christ Above All Others

Bibliography

For my Hudson, Henry, and Charlotte

May the stories of these three inspire you as they did me

And for Winnie

Who has modeled sacrificial love for me 
every day of our lives together

Acknowledgments

I am grateful for all the people that helped make this project a reality. I’m thankful to Pickwick Publications for taking a chance on this book. Brian Palmer and RaeAnne Harris have both been very kind and understanding. I’ve also appreciated the feedback so many colleagues and friends have been willing to give me. One of the many benefits of writing a book like this one is that I’ve been able to discuss the content of the book with so many people. I’ve learned so much from others in these discussions – much more than anyone has learned from me.

I could not have completed this book without the help of so many others who were willing to read chapters and provide feedback. Chuck Lawless and I had multiple conversations about the proposal over the course of several years. After all these years of working together, he still helps me to see issues I’ve overlooked. As usual, Pat Lawson’s keen editorial eye helped me refine the writing in several of the chapters. Kyle Faircloth and Phil Barnes also provided much needed editorial feedback. Brian P. and Bo L. both read an early draft of the whole book and did it on short notice. Their feedback helped me recognize that several sections needed significant tweaking.

I am most thankful for my family. My wife was supportive and encouraging throughout this process. Her partnership over the past fourteen years has helped me to understand that the purpose of marriage is for two people to grow together in Christlikeness. I am eternally grateful that God allowed me to share that journey with her. Our three children, each one named after one of the missionaries in this book, have been a constant source of encouragement. My parents also read the entire text and provided much helpful feedback.

Of course nothing is possible in this life apart from God, the giver and sustainer of life. I’m grateful that God has blessed me with so many opportunities and experiences. During some long stretches of my adult life, I often struggled to understand why God had led me where I was at that time. It was only later that I realized God was providing me with the experiences I would not have pursued otherwise. Like so many other things in life, this book is a tribute to his unending faithfulness and lovingkindness. Soli Deo Gloria!

1

Love and the Cause of Christ

The lights dim, the screen zeroes in on John, and he says to Mary, It’s you. It’s always been you, my one true love. In spite of all the obstacles these two main characters have faced, they have accomplished the impossible and attained the unobtainable—they have found true love.

We are familiar with this kind of scene because one exists in almost every contemporary movie. These scenes fill us with happiness, give us hope, and provide that warm fuzzy feeling that people want when watching a good movie. They also reveal the fact that many people today consider finding their one true love as critical to their overall happiness and well-being. If I can just find Mr. Right, they reason, then I’ll be content. But is this cultural value a biblical one? What does the Bible teach us about how we should approach and think about love?

One True Love

My wife likes to watch Hallmark movies. The nice thing about these movies is that they are clean and free from any kind of explicit language or sexual activity that is so rampant in many television programs and movies today. The downside to Hallmark movies is that the acting is far from great, and there’s almost never any massive explosions, car chases, or kung-fu-like fighting sequences that most of us men like. As unrealistic as it is, I’d much rather have an Avengers-style movie where the heroes are so strong that when they shove their enemy, he flies thirty feet away and crashes into a skyscraper, which then implodes and levels an entire city block. But alas, sometimes I have to let my wife chose the movies.

While Hallmark movies are upbeat and lighthearted, the problem with them—and with all romantic comedies for that matter—is that the whole point of the movie is for two people to fall in love. In these movies, two people meet and initially don’t like each other. They are usually forced to spend time together, during which they realize they actually like other. For awhile they don’t know what to do about liking each other, but finally they decide to be together. Once they decide they are both in love, the movie abruptly ends.

All of these kinds of movies convey a simple idea—finding Mr. or Mrs. Right is critical to one’s happiness in life. We gain the impression that once the main character meets that special someone, everything in his/her life is perfect. The problem is that life simply doesn’t work that way. Falling in love and getting married is only the starting point of life together. In these movies, we never see the difficulties of the first year of marriage, the realization that one’s spouse really isn’t perfect, or the long hours of conversation, tears, and prayers that it takes to overcome these and many other challenges.

The point here is not to dissect what makes a happy marriage or why certain movies don’t actually portray real-life events. We simply need to recognize that many people today consider finding the right person as critical to happiness and fulfillment. Once they get married, though, they realize that life is not like the movies, and everything is not perfect, wonderful, and easy.

At the same time, many people have the attitude that if you haven’t found that person or aren’t looking for that person, something is wrong with you. It’s only anecdotal, but after I graduated from college and was still single, our church held a special event with a guest speaker. That night, after the speaker introduced himself, he asked all the single people in the audience to stand. When we all did, he then said, Take a good look around because these are the only options you have left. Not only was this comment hurtful and mean-spirited, it had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of his message. At the time, I was glad to be single, and I was trying to use that time in my life to grow closer to the Lord. His comments bothered me though, because they called into question the idea that there could be any usefulness to being single. Moreover, I knew the other singles in attendance that night, and I knew that many of them were not content with their singleness. I can only imagine how much the speaker’s foolish comments hurt them.

Why would a respected speaker make such comments? Unfortunately, these cultural conceptions of happiness and fulfillment affect those within the church too. I’ve heard similar stories from my students as well. They are serving the Lord faithfully, and yet because they are single, their churches treat them as if something is wrong with them. Just like the surrounding culture, many people in the church believe that finding love is critical to one’s happiness.

In the Bible, though, we see that our joy and satisfaction in life is not dependent on being in love or on finding that special someone. The testimony of Scripture tells us that fulfillment only comes from knowing Christ and walking with Christ, not from finding the perfect spouse. Consider Jesus’ own teaching. A man comes to Jesus, desiring to follow him, and then makes a simple plea: Let me first go and bury my father (Luke 9:60). We expect Jesus to respond with compassion and sympathy, much like any of us would in that situation. We expect Jesus to say something like, I’m sorry for your loss. Go home, take some time to grieve, and then come follow me. We expect to find kindness and comfort, and yet, Jesus responds, Leave the dead to bury their own dead.

And then another man comes with a similar request saying, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home (9:61). Seems reasonable, right? If this man is really going to follow Jesus, travel where he goes, and not return home, it makes perfect sense that he would want to go home first and let his family know about his plans. In a day before cell phones and email, we can understand why this man wanted to go home first. Once again, we expect understanding and sympathy from Jesus, but like before he replies somewhat cryptically, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (9:62).

Like all the Gospel writers, Luke liked to string together stories and teachings of Jesus that had similar themes. So if we take a step back and look at the broader context, we see that this is a section of the Gospel where Luke is defining who Jesus is and what it means to be his follower. It starts in 9:18 when Jesus asks his disciples, Who do the crowds say that I am? They answer, and then Jesus follows up with a second question, "Who do you say that I am?" (emphasis mine). Just like the disciples had to think about this question and decide how