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 “Why did you not come sooner?” The man's question burned in Hudson Taylor's soul as he thought of the millions of Chinese who had never heard of Christ. The middle-aged man was one of the leading officers of a sect of reformed Buddhists in China. He had long sought truth by studying Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, but not until he heard the Gospel did he find rest for his soul. He eagerly testified to the Buddhists of the peace he had, and he began preaching Christ to his fellow countrymen.
Shortly after his conversion he had asked Taylor how long the English had known the Gospel. When Hudson told him it had been many hundreds of years, the man was shocked. “What! For hundreds of years you have had these glad tidings and only now have come to preach it to us? My father sought after the truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Why did you not come sooner?” (Quoted in: Hudson Taylor: A Heart for China’s Millions, www.gospelcom.net/chi/ glmps047.shtml)
Hudson Taylor was born in England in 1832. His parents had been unable to have children until they asked God for a son who would take the Gospel to China.
As a young man, Hudson showed very little interest in his parent’s religion. His main interest was horses, hunting, and the luxuries of life. But one day when he was sixteen, he picked up a tract in his father’s apothecary shop, read it, and committed his life to Christ. Very soon after, he determined to go to the mission field. During the next five years, he trained to be a doctor in preparation for his mission to China.
At 21, he left for China, sponsored by the Chinese Evangelization Society.
When he arrived in Shanghai, the nation was in the midst of political upheaval and civil war. Foreigners were restricted to the Chinese port cities and could not go inland. But Hudson, burdened for the millions of Chinese in the interior of the country, ignored the law and penetrated the heart of the nation.
Because he was aware of the cultural insensitivity of most missionaries, he decided to “become Chinese,” so his ministry would affect more people. He dyed his hair black and donned a false pigtail, Chinese spectacles, and baggy pantaloons.
He began the China Inland Mission with the initial goal of recruiting 24 workers to assist him. The workers arrived within a year. 70 more, and then 100 followed them after that. Eventually, there were 849 workers spread across China. His single-minded purpose was to win to Christ every man, woman, and child in China.
Because money rarely arrived from home, Taylor learned how to depend upon God to meet his needs. His famous saying was, “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack for supplies.”
When Hudson Taylor died in 1905, there were 205 mission stations and 125,000 Chinese Christians in the China Inland Mission. Over 50% of the missionaries in China were with his organization. His pioneering work paved the way for the work of God taking place in China today.
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