Divine Love Conquered

Rosalind Goforth

Unlovable Heathen

The day had been an unusually strenuous one, and I was really very tired. Toward evening, a crowd of women burst open the living-room door and came trooping in before I had time to meet them outside. One woman set herself out to make things unpleasant. She was rough and repulsive and, well, just indescribably filthy. I paid no attention to her except to treat her as courteously as the rest. But when she put both hands to her nose, saying loudly, “Oh, these foreign devils, the smell of their home is unbearable!” my temper rose in a flash and, turning on her with anger, I said, “How dare you speak like that! Leave the room!” The crowd, sensing a “storm,” fled. I heard one say, “That foreign devil woman has a temper just like ours!”

Now, I had not noticed that the door of my husband's study was ajar, nor did I know that he was inside, until, as the last woman disappeared, the door opened and he came forward, looking solemn and stern. “Rose, how could you so forget yourself?” he said. “Do you realize that just one such incident may undo months of self-sacrificing, loving service?” “But, Jonathan,” I returned, “you don't know how she—.” But he interrupted, “Yes, I do; I heard all. You certainly had reason to be annoyed; but were you justified, with all that is hanging in the balance and God's grace sufficient to keep you patient?”

Small Victory

We had been a few months in Chuwang, and the people, as a whole, were still hostile….My husband and I were to take lunch one day with our neighbor missionary. Just as we were leaving, I turned to wave good-bye to the baby, who was in his high-chair. His face had such a strange expression on it, and the child was wriggling back and forth so violently, I ran forward, fearing something was hurting him. As I lifted his clothes, I fairly screamed for my husband. The whole of the child's back was alive with eighty big lice! (We counted them later.) It took but a few moments to strip the child and put him in a bath.

Some hours later a council of war was held to discover the cause of what we had found…a Chinese teacher spoke up and said, “We must tell you the truth. It is not an uncommon thing for a woman who is jealous of another's child to gather all the vermin possible and put it on the little one!” Oh, the horror of it! For days I went about simply loathing the thought of getting in close contact with the women again. But…divine love conquered, and from that time I felt a love for the women such as I had never realized before. A miracle? Yes, truly, the miracle of divine grace!

Revelation

While on a furlough, Rosalind attended a conference that changed her life. The speaker drew simply but vividly, first a picture of an ordinary, all too common Christian life. If he had drawn the picture from my everyday life experience, he could not have given it other than he did. Sometimes on the mountain-top with visions of God and His mighty power; then the sagging, the dimming of vision, coldness, discouragement, even definite disobedience and time of downhill experience. Again through some sorrow or trial, there would come a return and seeking of the Lord, with again the higher Christian experiences. In a word, an up and down life of intermingled victory and defeat.

The speaker then asked all who truly sought for God's highest and best, yet who knew the picture he had drawn was true of their Christian life and experience, to hold up their hands. Being in the front seat and realizing many behind knew who I was, and that they thought of me as a “good missionary,” I kept my hand down. It was too humiliating to acknowledge that picture as representing me! But the Spirit of God strove with me. “If you keep your hand down you are a hypocrite! If you truly want God's best, humble yourself.” So up went my hand.

Then the speaker drew another picture: it was the Christian life as God had not only planned it for His children, but had made abundant provision for their living it. He described it as a life of Victory, not defeat, of peace and trust, not struggle and worry. All through his address, I kept thinking, “Yes, it's wonderful, but I've tried so often and failed, I doubt it is possible.” Then the speaker ended by urging us to go over the texts listed on a slip of paper to be given free at the close of the meeting. He emphasized the importance of standing on God's Word.

The following morning I rose early, as soon as it was light enough to see. On my knees, I read from the list I have mentioned, all the texts given. But before I had gone half way down the list, I saw clearly God's Word taught, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the overcoming, victorious life in Christ is the normal life God has planned for His children…

The day after reaching home, I picked up the little booklet, The Life That Wins , …it was the personal testimony of Charles G. Trumbull, editor of the “Sunday School Times,” the man who had been a great blessing to me at the conference…

I read on till I came to the words: “At last I realized that Jesus Christ was actually and literally within me.” I stopped amazed. The sun seemed suddenly to come from under a cloud and flood my soul with light! How blind I had been! I saw as in a flash the secret of victory. It was Jesus Christ Himself!...

One sentence my husband so often uses has come back to me these days: All the resources of the Godhead are at our disposal!”…

Later I discovered that the words: ‘God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY' (Col. 1:27) had changed the lives of many who later became marvelously used of God.

Victory Attained

I have been frank in revealing struggles and failures. Surely it will encourage you, my fellow climbers, to tell also of what the apprehension of the Lord Jesus Christ meant later in life.

Oh, how I longed to live so that the Chinese could see Christ in me. My impatience and quickness of speech were my besetting sins. Many a man had I trained to be an efficient cook and really valuable servant only to lose him suddenly because of my lack of patience, giving a rebuke well deserved perhaps, but given in anger.

Many months (I forget just how long) had passed after our return to our Changte station when one evening one of our leading evangelists came in just when my husband was about to start for the street chapel. The evangelist showed plainly he wished to speak to my husband alone, so I left the room. When he had gone, I returned to find my husband standing by the table with a strange look on his face. He seemed deeply moved, yet glad. I exclaimed, “Whatever is the matter?”

“Rose,” he said “you could never guess what he came for. He came as a representative from the other evangelists and workers, yes, and servants, too, to ask what is the secret of the change in you. Before you went home, none of the servants wanted to serve you, but now they all want to be your servants.” Is it any wonder tears flowed for very joy, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory!”