Appropriate Sacrifice

Carol Plueddemann

About twelve years ago, the publishing company I (Carol) worked for gave me an assignment: Read several dozen missionary biographies and prepare an anthology of quotations from those books. The result was World Shapers: A Treasury of Quotes from Great Missionaries.

Was there any common theme in the 40 books I read? Yes—sacrifice. Almost every significant cross-cultural endeavor has been birthed in sacrifice as lives were laid down for the sake of taking the Gospel to unreached places.

To the Golden Shore* is the story of Adoniram Judson, pioneer missionary to Burma. The book includes this letter Judson wrote to the father of Nancy Hazeltine when he was asking for her hand in marriage:

I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; …to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God?

The author continues, It was a letter that must have made John Hasseltine’s eyes pop nearly out of his head. With many misgivings, he left it to Nancy to make up her own mind. Whatever her choice, she had his blessing. Nancy wrote, “I have come to the determination to give up all my comforts and enjoyments here, sacrifice my affection to relatives and friends, and go where God, in his providence, shall see fit to place me.”

Judson’s letter turned out to be prophetic. Nancy Hazeltine Judson died in Burma, as did three of her children. Judson re-married, and his second wife Sarah also died. Two of her children died as well. Judson lost two wives and five children. What a huge cost! He wrote, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.”

In today’s world, the Judsons’ experience would never be tolerated. If any mission agency allowed this scenario, it would probably be black-listed by various organizations and periodicals. Maybe rightly so. But what is appropriate sacrifice? (Is the term appropriate sacrifice an oxymoron?)

Seminars on risk assessment and risk management are a necessary part of missions today. But Phil Parshall, (SIM, Philippines) rightly raises concerns about this emphasis. “It seems the spirit of courage and daring has been somewhat replaced by a conservative attitude that keeps missionaries packed up, ready to evacuate to a ‘safe haven’ at the first sign of upheaval.”

The emphasis in missions today is sometimes more on member care than on vision. Of course member care is crucial and can be an integral part of Kingdom vision. But member care is not the reason mission agencies exist! The joyful task of missions is to plant, strengthen, and partner with churches around the world.

What will it take to continue the work of missions in the spirit of our pioneers? Increasingly, our world is fragmenting and becoming more and more unsafe. There are fresh martyrs’ graves as well as old ones. Will today’s missionaries and future recruits be willing to serve in hard places? Will mission committees allow them to be assigned in high-risk areas?

In our travels to many different countries, we have been very moved by the willingness of many to serve in difficult places. Armed robbery, dangerous roads, and tropical illnesses are eminent dangers in many areas. Financial limitations, loneliness, and cultural alienation are assumed sacrifices for those who serve cross-culturally. And who can count the cost of those who leave grown children and grandchildren in their homelands to answer God’s call? God gives grace for these sacrifices just as He gives grace for the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus didn’t say “Go into all the safe places of the world…” But along with the command to go into to all the world, He gave the promise of His power and His presence.

Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

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1.To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, by Courtney Anderson. New York: Little Brown and Company, 1956.