Love Goes: J. Hudson Taylor ( 1832-1905)

Valentine's Day is coming fast! We’ve dedicated this week to telling the stories of people of faith who showed great love and sacrifice for others. In John 13:35, Jesus said “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Today is Hudson Taylor’s day.   

When James Hudson Taylor was just a child, he would often tell others that he was going to be a missionary to China. His parents even prayed this for him before he was born.

And God answered their prayers. After a time of teenage rebellion, Hudson gave his life to the Lord at the age of 17 and he began preparing to be a missionary to China.

At the age of 21 Hudson Taylor made his first of many trips to China. Life in China was challenging. Hudson had different ideas of how to do things than the other missionaries had. He wanted to be among the people, to dress like they dressed, eat what they ate, and live among them as neighbors.

Even though Hudson’s life wasn’t easy, he often wrote about how God works in our weakness. He was sick a lot, separated from his family, and endured harsh treatment by many.

But his main focus was sharing the good news of the gospel. Even though it was very dangerous, Hudson had a big desire to go inland to the rural people of China who had never heard about Jesus. 

Hudson Taylor travelled by boat around the canals and waterways of China, preaching and distributing Bibles

Hudson Taylor’s practices were all new ideas in mission work and so Hudson started a new mission agency called “China Inland Mission” in 1865. By the time of his death in 1905, CIM had 20 mission stations and more than 800 missionaries. And it continues to this day as Overseas Missionary Fellowship, working in many countries in Asia.