For the Glory by Duncan Hamilton

Author:Duncan Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473508897
Publisher: Transworld

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Sharpest Edge of the Sword

COUNTRY EVANGELISM WAS Eric Liddell’s forte. He had been born for it. Within six months, after his Chinese began to improve markedly, he was certain that leaving Tientsin for Siaochang had been a ‘destiny-fulfilling’ decision for him after all. Once asked outright by the inquisitive Annie Buchan whether he ever regretted his move, Liddell replied ‘Never’ and then explained why: ‘I have more joy and freedom in the work than I have ever experienced before.1’ Liddell said it was ‘wonderful to feel one with the people’. Florence Liddell saw the change in her husband.2 ‘It was quite obvious he did the right thing,’ she said. ‘He loved the work . . . and I think he blossomed out in a new way.’

Liddell considered the Chinese to be ‘calm, patient, willing to suffer a great deal with very little complaining and content with very little’.3 He could have been describing himself as well. Predictably he became confidant, comforter, grief-counsellor, social worker, diplomat and problem-solver in Siaochang – inside as well as outside its walls. If there was a quarrel, he was ‘used as a buffer’, recalled Buchan, whose initial scepticism about whether Liddell could transform himself from classroom teacher to missionary quickly passed. To the Chinese, who looked on him so fondly, he became Li Mu Shi: Pastor Liddell. When any decision had to be reached – and especially if it was likely to stir controversy or required mediation – Buchan would hear someone say, ‘Ask Li Mu Shi what he thinks about it.4’ The preachers, the nurses, the students and the Chinese ‘hung on his words’, she added.

The formidable Annie Buchan marches through the Concessions in Tientsin.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.