Hudson taylor, god’s venturer

Chapter 2

To Hudson the contrast between this poverty-stricken, unattractive area and the beauties of the Yorkshire town from which he had come, was sharp indeed. How different, too, was his shabbily furnished little room from the cozy, comfortable home over his father’s drugstore in Market Square, Barnsley! The warm parlor behind the store, with its gaily colored china and sparkling glass, its large bookcase, and comfortable sofa and chairs seemed a palace to the little room with a bed in one corner, and a table and a couple of chairs. It was lonely, too, eating his limited meals in solitary state, instead of sitting down to a well-spread table with his parents and two chattering younger sisters. He enjoyed teasing his sisters, with their corkscrew curls and frilly frocks, and he missed them—especially Amelia. But it was in order to get accustomed to loneliness and hardship that he had come here, and he was determined to stay. It was part of his preparation for living in China.

Ever since the December evening, more than a year previously, when he had heard a voice saying to him, “Go for Me to China,” he had known that he must go. He was praying at the time he heard that Voice, and although China had not been in his thoughts, the command was so clear and unmistakable that he had no doubt it was from God. It was because of his determination to obey that he had left his congenial home at Barnsley to come and work for a doctor in Hull. A little medical knowledge and experience would be useful in a strange land, and this move to Hull was but the first step in his journey toward that Empire of the East.

Not only was he anxious to gain medical knowledge for life as a missionary in China. That was a small matter compared with another question which constantly confronted him. He knew no one in China, and he was going alone. Was his faith in God strong enough for him to go to a strange land and face difficulties and danger hitherto unknown?
“When I get to China,” he thought, “I shall have no claim on anyone for anything. My only claim will be on God. What if my faith is not the right sort? Supposed my prayers do not work?” And the more he thought about it the more he realized that he must learn to move men through God, by prayer, even before he left England.
To move men through God, by prayer—the thought gripped him. Could it be done? He wanted to find out... In a very simple, natural way, the opportunity was presented to him through his employer.

Dr. Robert Hardey was a friendly, kindhearted, vigorous man with a never-failing fund of good humor. It was said he made people laugh so much they were cured of half their ailments without any medicines! With a large practice and many claims on his time, he was too busy to attend much to business details, and one day he said to his young assistant:

“Taylor, please do remind me when it is time for me to pay you your salary. I’m so busy, you know. I’m quite likely to forget.”

He did forget. The time came to pay Hudson, and nothing was said. A day or two passed, and still no reference was made to salary. Hudson was faced with two alternatives. He could ask the doctor for the money, or he could ask God. And remembering that when he got to China he would have no one to ask but God, he decided to ask Him now. That was why he was down to his last silver coin on the Sunday night he gave it away to the starving family. Little wonder that when the gold coin fell out from the mysterious packet the next morning, he laughed aloud for joy! He had taken a risk to find out whether it worked, this idea of trusting God, and it had worked! Right in the nick of time the money had come, and God alone knew from whom. Hudson certainly did not. All he knew was that he had not gone without a meal through trusting God, although it had looked very much as though he might. He felt like Elijah must have felt when the ravens arrived with his dinner!

“It works! It works!” Hudson went forth from his lodging, gold coin in pocket, lighthearted and jubilant. Trusting God worked! Obeying God worked! It was wonderful, stimulating, exciting!

However, he realized that his money would not last forever. The main problem still remained—the payment of his salary. The cheerful, busy doctor might go on for months without remembering it, and the questions was, would God remind him?

Daily Hudson prayed that the doctor might remember, then went cheerfully on with work and study, confident that something would happen. A week passed, and his money was diminishing slowly. His rent made quite a hole, but he had sufficient to last him until Saturday—but after that...

Saturday came. The doctor said nothing. The day wore on. By five o’clock all the patients had been attended to, and the doctor came into the dispensary where Hudson was and sitting down in his armchair started to talk. Evidently he had no thought of the salary. Hudson, carefully watching a mixture in a pan, made no reference to it. Then, quite suddenly, the doctor said:

“Oh, I am sorry!” exclaimed the doctor. “Why didn’t you remind me? You know how busy I am. I do wish I had thought of it a little sooner, for I sent all the money I had to the bank only this afternoon. Otherwise I would pay you at once.”

Poor Hudson! The sudden dashing of his hopes was almost too much. It was as though a bucket of icy water had been thrown over him. Fortunately, the concoction in the pan boiled up, and he rushed with it from the room, glad for an excuse to get away. When alone, he threw himself on his knees. His disappointment was so great he could scarcely pray. What his prayer lacked in coherence, however, it was made up for in earnestness, and after a while he calmed down. Indeed, somewhat to his surprise, he found himself feeling quite cheerful again. God would certainly work for him, he thought hopefully, and although he had no money to pay his landlady when he returned to his lodging, even that knowledge did not unduly depress him.

It was late when he prepared to leave the dispensary. The hands of the clock stood at about ten minutes to ten when he started to put on his overcoat. “Well, my landlady’ll be in bed by the time I get back,” he thought. “So I shall not have to see her this evening and tell her I cannot pay the rent this week—that’s good!” He walked over to the gas bracket, preparing to turn it off, when he heard the sound of footsteps outside. It was the doctor, and he was laughing heartily, as though greatly amused.

“Why, hello, Taylor, are you still here?” he exclaimed. “What do you think? One of my patients has just come to pay his bill! He’s one of the richest patients I’ve got, and could have paid me by check anytime. Yet here he is, bringing the money at ten o’clock on Saturday night!”
Hudson laughed. That a man with money should come himself to pay his doctor’s bill at such a time was certainly unusual. What had possessed him? People were not usually so punctilious about paying bills!

The doctor made his entry in the ledger, and started back toward the door, when suddenly he turned.

“By the way, Taylor,” he said, “you might as well take these notes. I have no change, but I can give you the balance of your salary next week...Good night.”

Hudson, his pockets empty, was left standing in the dispensary with a handful of bank notes. His prayer was answered. Not only could he pay his landlady, not only had he the money in hand for weeks ahead, but he had proved again that God answered prayer! There was no question about it now—he could go to China.