Life for Adoniram Judson was hard. As the first modern American missionaries, he and his wife Nancy had worked in Burma (today called Myanmar) since 1819. It was not easy. They lost three of their children - and then the greatest tragedy of all, Nancy also died. Fighting depression, Judson continued his work.
It was at about this
time that one of his workers found a faith in Jesus Christ. Ko Tha Byu came
from the wild Karen tribe in the southeast of Burma. He took Judson and some of
his fellow missionaries to visit the tribe. There they found an amazing openness to the
gospel.
‘We have been waiting for this day,’ said one of the tribal
leaders. The leader began to explain…..
The Karen tribe already had established oral traditions. These traditions
stated that in years gone by, they had been given a Golden Book of wisdom that
taught about the one true God, called ‘Y’wa’. But the Karen had lost their book.
According to their tradition, white brothers across the sea had retained a copy
of the Golden Book and would one day bring it home. As Ko Tha Byu, Judson and
his team ministered from the Bible – the Golden Book – they found an open door
for the gospel. Whole villages converted to Christ. Thousands were baptised.
The Karen Christian influence went beyond their own tribe. They went to their
neighbours, the Kachin, and within the next century, the Kachin recorded
250,000 converts.
It is not clear who originally brought the ‘Golden Book’ to the Karen. It
could well have been one of the early apostles (we know Thomas reached Goa in
India), or early church leaders reaching eastwards. We have lost that story but
can rejoice that all that was needed was the spoken Word of God in order to
spark Holy Spirit revival.
Adoniram Judson once said ‘There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success it is because someone will succeed after.’
His sacrifice - the sacrifice of all his family - resulted in thousands finding a faith in Jesus Christ.
Further Reading:
'Revival' by Winkie Pratney
