Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor

"Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men..." (E. M. Bounds). Hudson Taylor was just that man. He was the first Westerner to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to inland China. The book, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret written by his son and daughter-in-law, gives a biographical account of the life of Hudson Taylor and how he leaned on the supernatural power of God and His promises in the midst of trials, suffering, and tremendous barriers.

This book begins in the year 1849 with 17-year old Hudson's Taylor's beginning of faith in Jesus after reading his father's book "The Finished work of Christ". Not long after, he was burdened to go to the vast land of China, full of people who have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus. This book ends with a flourishing mission (China Inland Mission) with over 1000 missionaries that was guided by the principle to never solicit funds or workers and trust that God would provide the workers and the finances to do His work. Hudson Taylor rested in God's promises and patiently waited for God to act even when the bank account was empty and no workers were to be found.

I was deeply influenced by this book. To read about this man, who laid it all down for God and had faith that God would provide, was eye opening. I realized that I just don't get it. I am too influenced by the world and have faith in a bank account, in health, and in a career that could be gone in an instant. These are not guaranteed. But Hudson Taylor knew there was one guarantee; The Creator and Orchestrator of all.

Overall, this is a great read. Although this book was sometimes difficult to follow, it was amazing to hear about Hudson Taylor's intimacy with God and his never-ending love for the Chinese people.

And Who Is My Neighbor?

How many are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan? In the passage, An expert of the Jewish law (lawyer) asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by asking the lawyer what the law says, and the lawyer responded with "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love you neighbor as yourself". Jesus agreed. Then the lawyer tried to justify himself by asking "And who is my neighbor?", to which Jesus gave the story of the Good Samaritan.

Why did the lawyer try to justify himself? Did he try to qualify who his neighbor was? I was convicted by this because I would call those people that are easy to be around as my neighbors. But then would I would NOT call neighbors as those that require alot of my effort, or money, or time, or energy. I would justify myself by saying "That person lives too far away", " That person has nothing in common with me", "That person might sue me or hurt me", or "That person gives nothing back in this relationship".

Jesus gives an example of how to be neighbor by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (the Jewish people hated the Samaritans and had nothing to do with them). The Samaritan risked his life, used his hard earned money (two denarii = two days wages), and gave a whole day to serve the victim. Jesus showed this example of being a neighbor by showing that no matter what the cost and no matter who the other person is, we a called to be a neighbor.

...he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful

I started pruning my trees with little experience or knowledge. The main reason was that I was tired of ducking below the branches when I was walking in my yard. As I was pruning, I got into a conversation with my neighbor about his trees. I notice that his trees were noticeably larger. I was curious to hear what his secret was. He said the key was pruning. He prunes the correct branches to allow growth. So I asked what were the correct branches. He said keep the area around the trunk clean and the "V's" or area where a branch splits to two clean. He said to also thin out the crowd areas on the tree and cut off those branchs that have less growth and leave those branches that are more healthy. That was it. Through all of this, I was reminded of John 15 with the Father in the vineyard who "prunes" so that the branches "will be even more fruitful".

I thought what an interesting parallel about the growth of a Christian versus a tree (or plant). Pruning is a necessaring step in order to maximize growth. So I decided to learn a bit more about how to prune tree and focus on its parallel to the Father in Heaven pruning us or things in our life.

Here are a few notes on pruning a tree:

1. Remove dead branches. The Father prunes those things that have no life in it. Perhaps, sin areas in our life that suck essential nutrients away from those things that have life.

2. Remove crowded or rubbing limbs. Sometimes there are things in our life that are good and that help us grow, but these things take away from those areas that will bring more life. The Father helps prune these areas and allow for us to focus on the more essential things.

3. Eliminate hazards. The Father sometimes prunes areas in our life that tend to hurt or hinder the growth of others.

4. Remove branches to increase light and air penetration to the inside of the tree’s crown or to the landscape below. The Father prunes branches that may be good but do not allow enough penetration to our heart. Our lives tend to be too busy and we forget that we need light for our essential being.

I sometimes see that best practices in life tend to parallel with the spiritual. Jesus taught many parables in the Bible that related to the best agricultural practices in order for us to understand a glimpse of the spiritual.