Friday, March 13th

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March 13

Healthy Good-Byes

Barnabas took Mark . . . but Paul chose Silas.

—Acts 15:39-40

Hudson Taylor was a missionary to China in the 1800s and the founder of China Inland Mission (now OMF International). Today he is remembered for the significant contributions he made in sharing the gospel throughout China. The organization he started was responsible for sending 800 missionaries to all 18 provinces of China. As a result of these relationships, 18,000 people committed their lives to Christ.

But for all he accomplished during his 51 years in China, Taylor faced sharp criticism in his day. For one thing, he adopted traditional Chinese clothing, even dying his hair and beard black so he could fit in better with the people and customs there. He learned several Chinese dialects and translated Scripture into the common language of the people. But there were many Christians back home who opposed these practices, criticizing him for turning his back on Western customs.

Taylor also faced conflict when it came to the people he recruited to join him on the mission field. He saw how great the spiritual needs were in China, and he was finding it difficult to recruit people to join him. So he made another controversial decision: he sent unmarried women into the interior, a move that other missionaries balked at in the mid 1800s.

His unconventional decisions caused some people to splinter off from his organization, but this didn’t deter him. He remained convinced that God would raise up passionate people to bring the gospel to China. He said, “China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease-loving men and women. The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, [and] souls first and foremost in everything and at every time—even life itself must be secondary.”

The differences of opinion between Hudson Taylor and his fellow missionaries were not about the gospel; they were about customs and traditions. And as difficult as it must have been for them to part ways, the split opened the door for people who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to serve the Lord this way.

When two teammates part ways—especially when they’re partners in spreading the gospel, there is inevitably pain in the split. We don’t hear how the early church responded when they heard about Paul and Barnabas going different directions. No doubt it sent some ripples through the band of believers, but we don’t have any indication in Scripture that Paul and Barnabas badmouthed each other or forced people to choose sides. There was, it seems, unity in the church even as they went their separate ways.

Interestingly, God used the division between Paul and Barnabas for good. When they split up, the missionary impact was essentially doubled: Paul selected a new partner, Silas, and they headed to Syria and Cilicia. Meanwhile, Barnabas invited John Mark to join him and they ministered in Cypress. So instead of the gospel only going to one location, the good news spread twice as fast.

Disagreement is not something to be taken lightly. It has the power to cause friction and disunity within the church. But disagreement doesn’t have to inherently mean division. If we as Christians can keep focused on Christ and our calling to share about him with others, it’s possible to disagree while still remaining united and advancing the gospel.

Historian Ruth Tucker made this statement about Hudson Taylor: “No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematized plan of evangelizing a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.”

Both these stories of conflict—the controversy between Paul and Barnabas and the controversy between Hudson Taylor and his fellow missionaries—serve as examples of the ways God can expand his Kingdom even amid conflict.

When has God brought good of a parting of ways in your life?

—Stephanie Rische