Hold the Ropes

William Carey was a shoemaker in England in the mid 1700’s. Even though he was not a missionary, his heart broke for missions and the dying people of the world. He kept a map of the world on the wall in front of his work bench that as he made and repaired shoes, he would pray and weep over the lost souls of the world.

In a meeting with the missionary society of London, the leaders asked, “Who will go down to take the Gospel?” Carey spoke up and said, “I will go…but you must hold the rope for me.”

Carey’s wife just could not bring herself to move to India. They had 5 children and the youngest was a baby. As difficult as the decision was, Carey decided to take his oldest son and go to India hoping that his wife would be willing to join him at a later time. Just before their departure, the Lord moved on her heart and she decided to go as a family.

Arriving after a long 5 month voyage by sea, life became difficult living on foreign soil in a culture hostile to the West. Shortly after settling in, tragedy struck their lives through the death of their baby. Because the Hindu’s would not touch a dead foreigner, through tremendous grief, William had to dig his baby’s grave by hand and bury the child.

Adjusting to life in India was difficult on his family. To make the situation even harder, Carey would plough the difficult soil of the hearts of Hindu’s for seven long years before he saw his first convert to Christianity. Can you image how many times he wanted to quit? I wonder how many times he second guessed his decision to leave his home and life in England to serve Christ in India?

The man that William Carey led to the Lord went on to become a pastor himself, sharing the gospel with his own people. He would preach Christ and the cross for the next 20 years!

The greatest contribution William Carey made to the Church was the translation of the Bible he dedicated his life too. Even though he labored much of his life without enjoying the fruit from his efforts, before his death, he was able to see the impact his translation had for the Indian people. 212,000 copies of his translation reached 300 million people in over 40 Indian dialects.

Today, we call William Carey, “The Father of Modern Missions.” He is an example of a life that did not quit when Satan hindered. He didn’t go back home when he questioned if he was cut out to be a missionary. One of the great sayings that marked his life was, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Indeed he was someone who attempted great things for God’s glory!