Sir, May I Marry Your Daughter?

Adoniram Judson and his wife set sail from the United States for Burma in 1812. They were among the first protestant missionaries to go into Burma. Adoniram served in Burma for forty years. However, his wife Ann died in 1826 at the age of 37. Their story is a striking one, as God used them in a tremendous wave to spread the gospel in that dark land. Adoniram's greatest work was to translate the Bible into Burmese. Ann's was the work she was able to do with young girls and women - in a culture where women were very much "second class citizens."

Soon after Adoniram and Ann met, Adoniram sent a letter to Ann's father, John Hasseltine, asking him for permission to marry his daughter. Read on ... and as you do, try to put yourself in John Hasseltine's shoes. Would you say yes to such a request as the one he received from Adoniram?

"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; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; 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? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?"

Wow! How far I must still travel in my own commitment to Christ! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj