Labors in England
77
where, oh where are the men who have love enough for the truth and
precious souls to give themselves with unselfish devotion to the work?
Men are wanted who are willing to leave their farms, their business,
and their families, if need be, to become missionaries. There have
been men, who, stirred by the love of Christ and the love of souls,
have left the comforts of home and the society of friends, even that
of wife and children, to go into foreign lands, among savages and
idolaters, in hope of sowing the seeds of truth. Many have lost their
lives in the attempt, but others have been raised up to carry forward the
work. Thus the work has progressed step by step, and the seeds of truth
sown in sorrow have borne a bountiful harvest. The knowledge of the
Bible has been extended, and the gospel banner has been established
in heathen lands.
Salvation was brought to us at great self-denial and infinite cost by
the Son of God. Some have followed his example, and have not let
farms, or pleasant homes, or even loved ones, stand in their way. They
have left all for Christ. But I am grieved and astonished that there are
so few who have the real missionary spirit at this time. The end so
near, the warning of a soon-coming Judgment yet to be given to all
nations, tongues, and peoples, yet where are the men who are willing
to make any and every sacrifice to get the truth before the world? Some
who do go forth as missionaries are so grieved to leave the things they
love that they keep in a state of sorrow and depression, and one-half of
their usefulness is destroyed. They are not called to go among heathen
or savages, to suffer for food or clothing, nor are they deprived of even
the conveniences of life; and yet they look upon themselves as martyrs.
Such are not bold soldiers of the cross of Christ. They do not give him
willing service.
True, there are many difficulties to be met in presenting the truth
even in Christian England. One of the greatest of these is the difference
in the condition of the three principal classes, and the feeling of caste,
which is very strong in this country. In the city the capitalists, the
shop-keepers, and the day-laborers, and in the country the landlords,
the tenant-farmers, and the farm-laborers, form three general classes,
between whom there are wide differences in education, in sentiment,
and in circumstances. It is very difficult for one person to labor for
all classes at the same time. Wealth means greatness and power;
poverty, little less than slavery. This is an order of things that God