by his son Edward Judson—1883

Reviewed by Ed Hansen

Introduction

The Life of Adoniram Judson is a dynamic, detailed account of the life of one of America’s first overseas missionaries, who spent 37 years taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the heathen in the Southeast Asian country of Burma. Written by his son, Edward Judson, this biography touches on several critical ways we can advance the kingdom of God. As we follow the development and fulfillment of Adoniram Judson’s missionary vision, let us reflect on how we can form and sustain such vision in our generation and the generations to follow:

• We must develop a missionary vision in ourselves and in those under our influence, for God is a missionary God, and Christianity is therefore a missionary faith.
• We must guard the vision from the destructive influences of the world, the worldly “church,” the fleshly desires of our nature, and the devil.
• The vision must be brought to fruition in practical application as we, our children, and disciples move from merely being “convinced” of the truth of God’s Word to being truly “committed” to serving the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in full obedience.
• The vision must be tried and purified as God sanctifies us for the work of the kingdom.
• Finally, we must learn to support the vision by encouraging those who are pouring out their lives in His service both here and abroad.

Adoniram Judson was raised in a strict religious home. His father was a Congregational minister, a serious man who was jealous over the direction of his children’s lives. Those early years in the Judson home laid a solid foundation of belief in the priority of serving God with all of one’s being.

Here we can see plainly the benefit of being raised in a disciplined home, where righteousness was taught and lived out. We must also do this for our children at home. We must do this in our churches. Woe unto the family or church whose leaders are so unbelieving or lethargic that they fail to dynamically teach and live out the great precepts of the kingdom of God. Woe unto the church that has departed from teaching the beautiful gospel of repentance and restoration by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and has turned to the vanity of the law or the abomination of worldly philosophies.

Guard the Vision

A favorite of his father and very successful academically, young Adoniram became overly impressed with himself. In college he fell for the arrogant appeal of the popular deist philosophies. His profession of unbelief devastated his parents. Undoubtedly much prayer ascended to heaven on his behalf, and God mercifully intervened in a striking way. Judson stopped for the night at an inn while traveling west in pursuit of adventure. By “coincidence” his closest college friend lay dying in the next room. The untimely death of this self-confident atheist shocked Adoniram. He realized that deep down in his soul he knew that the Word of God was true. He saw that his real objection to Christianity was not intellectual. Rather, he had not been willing to give up his own way. This event led to his return home, his enrollment in seminary, and his eventual conversion.

May God give us wisdom and a diligent resolve in guarding our children and disciples from the temptations of worldly pleasures and philosophies. We must be thoughtful with regard to their preparation for the Lord’s service. Worldly associations and institutions will not influence them to believe and serve the God of heaven.

The Vision Must Be Brought to Fruition

During his course at Andover Seminary, Adoniram sought direction for his life. He wrestled again with temptations to personal ambition, yet chose rather to go forth as a missionary to the heathen in India. His association at this point with five equally zealous young men confirmed and encouraged his missionary vision. Together they committed their lives to the Person and work of Christ on the mission fields of the world. Together they sought and won support for their vision among the church leaders of their time. Together they prepared to go.

The downfall of much of American Christianity is the failure to make the transition from “convinced” to “committed.” I wonder if we realize how far short we are falling. We profess to believe that eternal things are of greater value than the temporal, but we often live according to the opposite philosophy. May God have mercy upon us and cause a “zeal” for our Father’s house to consume us.

The Vision Must Be Tried and Purified

Marrying and traveling to India in 1812, Adoniram Judson entered into the fires of purification. Over the course of the next year God moved them to Burma, which seemed to Adoniram “the rubbish dump of the Orient.” Not yet 25 years old, he and his first wife, Ann, undertook a monumental task: the planting of the Christian church in this sweltering, hostile, pagan land. The first four years saw no interest; the next two, still no converts. All the while he knew his fellow graduates were living the comfortable life in America, while he suffered through many illnesses and hardships. How many of us, even if willing and ready to go on such a sacrificial journey, would still be on the field after six agonizing years with no fruit to show for our labors? Later, Judson was imprisoned for over a year and a half in the filthy, torturous conditions of a Burmese “death camp.” Many times the missionaries kept there despaired of life.

Was God faithful? Yes! Here and there a soul was reached. Some of those converts rose up and became a tremendous blessing and encouragement in the work. Did it take more than Adoniram had imagined to establish the work? Yes! But it must also be observed that the end results of the mission work in Burma wildly exceeded Judson’s fondest dreams of success. Truly a deep and enduring work of God was established in Burmese society and in many tribal groups in isolated areas. Adoniram learned the language and translated the Bible into Burmese. By the time of Adoniram’s death, thousands of pagans had turned to Christ, and hundreds of native churches were established. Over 150 years after his death, this country, now known as Myanmar, still has a strong Christian testimony, especially among the minority tribes. The cost was greater than Judson imagined, but the fruit was also many times greater than he dared hope for.

Recently, one of our returned missionaries made a plea to our young people. His cry was also for commitment. The need is much greater, said he, than a six-week tour of duty can fulfill. Even six months or six years, though a sacrifice and a help, will not get the job done. Please, he pleaded, make a commitment to God’s service for life. Perhaps that service will be at home, perhaps abroad. However, our service must be for life. Let us not imagine that we shall please our Lord with a token sacrifice of service followed by a routine pursuit of the American dream. As our Lord Jesus gave His very life and being for us, may we also do so for Him. Though there be fightings, fevers, and frustrations along the way, may we also endure faithful to the end, to hear those precious words: “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter in to the joy of thy Master!”

Support the Vision

We would like to give special attention in this review to the subject of receiving returning missionaries. Adoniram Judson spent thirty-three years in Burma before his only furlough. Visiting his homeland again was a traumatic experience for him. America itself had changed a lot. The cities had grown tremendously; railroads, unknown in 1812, were a common means of travel when he returned in 1845. A whole generation of leading saints of God had passed off the scene. Judson had difficulty speaking in English, having communicated primarily in Burmese for three decades. He buried his second wife, Sarah, on the voyage home. His desires for his furlough were to “rest obscurely in comfortable New England,” to preach the gospel of Christ, and to stir up missionary interest among God’s people. He looked forward to fellowship with others who loved and served the Lord.

The expectations of the American people were vastly different. He was quite well known among the American churches, which shocked him. They idolized him and wanted him to come share about his work in every church. Their curiosity was great, but few took the time to get to know him. Their commitment to God was shallow. They wanted to be entertained with stories of the far-off and strange, but they had little appetite for the preaching of the Word of God and the call to sacrificial service. They were actually offended when he shared what he considered to be the greatest story of all time, the gospel of Christ. How would we respond if we attended a mission meeting and heard only such a message? Would we also walk out muttering our disappointment to one another? When he did not live up to their expectations, they were actually upset with him. May God grant that we would be wiser than that, more in tune with the heartbeat of our Lord and Master.

Can we meet returning missionaries and truly listen to them? What have they seen of the world and of the kingdom of God? What effect has it had upon their understanding of the Christian life? What are they struggling with as they return to this culture? What can God teach us through them? How can we be an encouragement to them? May we allow God to enlarge our hearts and make us what one author has termed “world Christians.” May we shed our narrow American perspective and see things more from God’s point of view.

Our returning missionaries can be a tremendous help to us in this regard. They do not want to be idolized. They want to have fellowship with us. They want to share those things that God has wrought deep in their hearts through their mission experiences, and these are things we need to hear and consider. May God give us grace to rightly relate to them, that we may indeed be fellow-soldiers together with them in the army of God.

Conclusion

This book review is offered with the hope of stirring the reader to greater consecration to worshiping and serving our Creator and Lord, and with a profound sense of the reviewer’s unworthiness to write of these things. May the Lamb of God receive the glory that is due His worthy name. May He have mercy on us and enable us to rise up by faith in our generation and live lives worthy of our Magnificent Lord and Saviour.

We heartily recommend this extensive biography for its influence on the open heart. It is a rich retelling of a life sold out to Christ, showing forth the attendant beauty of God’s character and presence. This volume contains a great deal of source material, such as personal letters and journal entries, and several valuable appendices. These include a translation of Judson’s first Burmese tract, his challenge to the converted but uncommitted, a letter to prospective missionaries, and two heart-rending stories from his ministry which pull back the veil on the horrifying depth of pagan needs and the transcendent joy of seeing them met in Christ. We will close with the following expression of the author’s desire in writing this biography:

“A life which embodies Christ’s idea of complete self-abnegation cannot but become a great object-lesson. A man cannot look into the mirror of such a career without becoming at once conscious of his own selfishness and of the triviality of a merely worldly life. A New York merchant in his boyhood read Wayland’s “Life of Judson,” and laying the book down left his chamber, went out into a green meadow belonging to his father’s farm, and consecrated his young life to the service of God. How many unknown souls have been attracted to Christ by the same magnetism! How many others have been lifted out of their self-love! How many have been drawn toward the serener heights of Christian experience by the example of him whose strong aspirings after holiness are depicted in “The Threefold Cord!” (Found in appendix C of this volume.) O that some young man might rise from the reading of these memoirs and lay down his life in all its freshness and strength upon the altar of God, so that he might become, like Paul of old, a chosen vessel of Christ to bear His name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel!”

The Life of Adoniram Judson has been republished by Life Line Printing.

www.lifelineprinting.com