Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith
The Bible is filled with biography – one character after another parade across the pages. God loves to teach lasting lessons through the lives of individuals. With that in mind, Stephen Davey has undertaken a special biographical series illustrating biblical truths through the lives of contemporary believers. These ordinary men and women provide a wonderful legacy. They are influenced and influential because of their faith in God. They are Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith.
Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith
Rescuing Innocence: The Legacy of Amy Carmichael in India
What would you do if you discovered a horrifying practice that was destroying the lives of innocent children? In this captivating episode, we share the incredible story of Amy Carmichael, a missionary whose life was transformed by her unwavering faith and commitment to serve the Gospel and the Church. Join us as we explore Amy's journey to India, where she uncovered the heartbreaking practice of temple prostitution in the early sixth century. From rescuing young girls like Prina, who was sold by her parents to a Hindu temple, to facing opposition from missionaries and publishers, Amy's courageous efforts changed countless lives.
You'll be inspired by Amy's sheer determination and her ability to make an impact despite adversity. Despite being bedridden from an injury, she continued to inspire thousands by writing and publishing several books and poetry. As we delve into Amy's life and legacy, we reflect on the Scripture that guided her throughout her journey, such as 1 Corinthians 3:11 and 2 Corinthians 5:10. Let Amy's story serve as a reminder of the power of faith and the importance of standing up for what you believe in, even when the odds are against you. Don't miss this incredible episode that pays tribute to an extraordinary woman who made a lasting impact on the world.
This series is available as a book. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/heroes
MUSIC. Welcome to Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith. As you listen, through this series, stephen Davy will introduce you to ordinary men and women whose lives and legacies were influenced by their faith in God. I'm your host, scott Wiley. This series is produced by Wisdom International. You can learn more and access all of our other resources at wisdomonlineorg. Amy Carmichael served God faithfully for many years in a difficult place. Her legacy as a missionary involves a commitment to helping people understand the truth of the gospel and helping the church understand its commitment. Here's Stephen, to introduce you to Amy Carmichael.
Speaker 2:MUSIC. In 1867, the oldest of seven children was born into an Irish family with a family name Carmichael. Although the parents, david and Catherine Carmichael, were dedicated Christians, they had no idea that their oldest firstborn daughter would grow up to become one of the modern world's most revered missionaries. What they did learn quickly on was that she was a handful. She was self-willed, hard to handle. How many mothers can identify right now with having a famous missionary one day? Maybe you're ready to send her to India right now, or him. She even earned the nickname early on Wild Irish. They called her.
Speaker 2:Whenever there was mischief in the Carmichael home, amy was usually the instigator. One of the first incidents that I came across that showed her determined will and her fiery personality occurred when she was only five years old. Her mother had told her that whatever she wanted or needed from God, she was to pray and God would answer her prayer. Amy had brown eyes and really felt that she would be better off with blue eyes Irish blue And so one night she prayed fervently that God would change the color of her eyes to blue. The next morning she jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror, and Mrs Carmichael could hear Amy wailing and weeping in frustration and disappointment. She had some trouble explaining to Amy that God sometimes answers prayers by saying no and always has a reason, even though we might not know what it is. On another occasion, she was about six years of age. An adult scolded her while she was eating plums because she was swallowing the seeds. And he said look, if you don't stop swallowing those plum seeds, you're going to grow plum trees out of your head. And Amy promptly swallowed 12 of them, delighted with the idea of growing an orchard on her head. How fun was that.
Speaker 2:So this sense of strong determination would serve her well later in India. She would abandon European dress. She would eventually drop her English mission agency and create her own. She would buck the caste system of India. She would build an orphanage and she would treat all of the staff and children equally. In fact, years later she would write reflecting back on that early childhood prayer where she prayed that her brown eyes would be turned to blue. She realized why God had not answered her prayer. It would allow her to impersonate a native Indian woman so that she could enter a Hindu temple unsuspected in order to sneak away a young girl who was being kept as a prostitute By the Brahmin priests. She would often be accused of kidnapping. She would face her accusers and refuse to back down.
Speaker 2:Well, if I could go back to her early years, at the age of 15, amy believed the gospel and gave her life into the hands of God, the Father. Two years later her father unexpectedly died, leaving her along with her mother to raise six younger children. One Sunday morning, soon after her dad died, mrs Carmichael and all the children in tow were walking away, leaving a church service, walking home, when Amy, a spied and older woman a woman we would refer to as a street person who was burdened down with this heavy load of rags, and instantly she went over with a brother or two and helped this woman with her bundle and took her arms and helped her along. And Amy would write later that she remembered the icy stairs of the other church members, whom she called proper Presbyterians, who obviously disapproved of her actions You shouldn't get your hands dirty like that. Amy would write that as she helped that old woman with her bundle of rags, a verse of Scripture flashed into her mind that she had memorized earlier First Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse 11. In fact, you might want to turn there. That's one of the significant verses that would impact and guide her life.
Speaker 2:First Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse 11,. The apostle Paul is encouraging the church and Corinth, and he says the latter part of verse 10, let each man be careful how he builds upon this foundation which is Christ verse 11, for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. Referring to believers, if any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he'll receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, that is, he'll lose that reward, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Speaker 2:Now, in this text, the apostle references the coming evaluation of every Christian's life. This isn't a time of punishment, it's a time of evaluation and reward. In fact, paul is going to expound on this judgment over in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 10, where he writes therefore, we have as our ambition, that is our passion, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to God, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be rewarded for his deeds in the body. Now we're clearly told that no believer is saved by good works, for by grace you've been saved through faith, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of what Works, lest any man should boast. That's pretty clear, isn't it? Salvation isn't earned by good works. However, even though salvation isn't earned by good works, it is definitely evidenced by good works. As the reformers put it so well centuries ago, saving faith is faith in Christ alone. But saving faith is never alone, it's always at work. So genuine faith is accompanied by good works that glorify the Father and cause the world to see the power of the gospel in and through our lives.
Speaker 2:So this text would challenge her with what was she building into her life? What would be revealed should Christ evaluate her? Would it last the fiery gaze of his evaluation like gold and silver and precious gems, or would it go up in smoke like wood, hay and stubble? The question that she would write about that would come to her mind. That Paul would lead all of us to ask what are we effectively giving to God Stuff that will burn up, meaningless, or do we offer Him that which will last? By the way, you might have noticed the word quality in that text. Paul makes it clear that our Christian service for Christ is not a matter of quantity but quality. So if Paul challenges the believer, do we offer precious things or cheap straw, or are we giving God the cheaper things in our lives, the leftovers that we can do without, or costly gifts? It was this passage that sent Amy Carmichael to her room that afternoon after coming home from helping this woman, and she prayed in anguish over the idea that she would settle for the religious status quo, that she would be a proper Presbyterian, that she would keep her hands from getting dirty, that her life wouldn't make a difference in people's lives. Her biographers would write that that particular day and this particular passage would echo throughout the rest of her life. God would soon test her resolve.
Speaker 2:Not long after that signature event with that older woman and the death of her father, unexpectedly her financial security was suddenly lost. Eventually, amy's mother was unable to care for all of the children, and Amy was old enough until she moved into the home of a godly widower who was raising his sons. He just so happened to be the co-founder of the Keswick movement, and Amy would serve as his secretary for several years. While living in this man's home, who would have a great impact in her life, the Lord began to burden her heart for young women who worked at a nearby mill, and she decided it was time to get her hands dirty again. These young women were nicknamed shawlies because they were too poor to buy hats while they worked, and so they would take their shawls and pull them up around their heads. She began to work among the shawlies. So effective was her work that after a matter of months, a number of women had trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Living in that home also gave her a tremendous opportunity to meet and talk with personally choice servants of God from that generation with names like F B Meyer and Hudson Taylor.
Speaker 2:It wasn't long before Amy began to desire some kind of ministry in a distant land where all of her pioneering and strong-willed attributes could really be put to the test. She would write that after hearing Hudson Taylor preach that Mark, chapter 16 and verse 15 would become a significant verse in her life as well at this particular stage, and just those first two words go, ye, go, ye, go, ye. In the original language that's in the imperative, it's a command you go. That's how she heard it. You, amy, go and deliver the gospel to some nation, some distant land, not someone else. You go. She heard Hudson Taylor preach where he spoke of the Chinese unbelievers dying at the rate of one million a month, and that arrested her thinking So Mark 16, verse 15, would become her personal call to leave her homeland of Great Britain and set out for what she said. She would then leave what she called the luxury of light and go into the darkness.
Speaker 2:Amy applied to Hudson Taylor's China inland mission but was rejected because of her poor health. She suffered from neuralgia. They diagnosed it as that, a disease that stimulated the nerves to feel pain, and it would force her to lie in bed for weeks at a time, but undeterred. Within the year she was on a boat headed for Japan. She would serve less than a year, though, forced to return home with her health broken. Not for most people. Certainly for a single woman in Victorian England, that would have been enough. She would have been applauded for her effort. Way to go, amy. You tried, and God would be pleased, and you ought to be satisfied with that particular sacrifice and obedience, but not for this wild Irish woman. Let me tell you. That wasn't good enough for her. She wanted to do something for God that no one had done before. She would later write Satan is so much more in earnest than we are. He buys up the opportunities while we are wondering how much they will cost us.
Speaker 2:To the surprise of everybody and many a concern, one year later, under a different board, in fact, belonging to the Church of England, amy set sail for India Not exactly an easier place to serve. As I read from a number of sources, i discovered that even the missionaries who greeted her in India when she arrived predicted she would not last six months before she'd leave to go home. She did struggle with her health. She would write how she struggled with loneliness. She struggled to learn the Tamil language so that she could share the gospel. She was in her early 20s, and what's fascinating is that she persevered through it. In fact, she would end up serving in India for 55 years without ever returning home one time on furlough. Her ministry, though is as interesting as how God works would take a turn she never expected, neither did the other missionaries In fact, i'll tell you what it is in a minute. But it would result in misunderstandings from her supporting church and board, disagreements with the other missionaries, an angry power play by an influential family back home that tried to take control of her ministry, even trouble with the law. But Amy chose to stay. In fact, she created her own mission agency, god Christ, to keep her out of prison and to care for her financial needs.
Speaker 2:It all began with a little girl named Prina. Prina was sold at the age of seven by her parents to the local Hindu temple, where she was supposedly married to the gods. You pull back the mask and you discover that she was actually inducted into a world that today goes by the name sex trafficking, although in her day and in her culture it was accepted, it was even revered. The parents were honored for doing so. The practice had begun in the early part of the sixth century, and it involved young girls who were sold by their parents to the Hindu priests, where they would be taught to sing and dance. When they reached puberty, they would be forced into lives of inescapable tragedy, for lack of a better word. There were nothing more than slaves of the Brahmin priests, used and abused by the men who came to the temple with their gifts of money and food.
Speaker 2:When Prina, this little girl, realized what her life would actually become, she ran away. She escaped. She eventually made it back to her home, where she thought she'd be safe. No sooner had she arrived home that the woman from the temple that had been tracking her arrived as well and demanded that her mother and father give Prina back immediately. Amy writes that Prina's arms were clutching her mother's waist while she cried to be rescued, and the woman from the temple threatened the wrath of the local gods the Hindu gods that would come down upon them unless they returned her immediately. And Amy writes that Prina's mother actually unleashed her daughter's clinging arms from around her waist and handed her back over to this woman. When they returned to the temple, the Brahmin priests took hot irons and branded Prina's hands as punishment.
Speaker 2:But Prina refused to give up and she soon ran away again not home this time. This time she ran to a nearby village and, providentially, was found by a woman who knew Christ, who hid her. And it just so happened, by the providence of God, visiting that same village that afternoon was an English missionary by the name of Amy Carmichael, and when she met Prina and heard her story, amy uncovered. What she later wrote and I quote, was this ugly sore on Mother India's body, where fathers and mothers sold their daughters to different gods, turning their precious daughters into temple prostitutes. And quote and Amy went into action. A village in southern India called Donivore became her mission headquarters. She purchased about a hundred acres, which soon saw the building of a school and a mission compound and a home and a hospital and an orphan Primarily became a refuge that Amy nicknamed the Gray Jungle Retreat. It wasn't long before seventeen young girls had escaped or had been whisked away from nearby temples to this sanctuary, and all of the girls called her the same name Amma, mother, if you can believe it.
Speaker 2:Missionaries were appalled that Amy would interrupt the caste system or even dare to rescue little girls away in the night from Hindu temples. That was against the conventionalities of the day. She would write about her experiences back to her supporters at home. One manuscript she actually hoped to publish, which would open the eyes of her countrymen, was refused by the publisher, who sent it back to her saying it was too disturbing and discouraging to read. She pressed on, She sacrificed all she had gold, silver and precious stone. Eventually, her haven of Donivore cared for little boys and abandoned babies, and they all called her Amma. I found it interesting to discover in my reading that most of the children who came to this refuge didn't know their birth date, which you could well imagine And so they would all reckon it the same way. They would choose as their birth date the day they arrived at Amy Carmichael's mission. They all called that their coming day, and they would celebrate with treats and gifts on their coming day because in their minds, that was the day they really began to live.
Speaker 2:Over the decades, without really asking for it, amy Carmichael began to gain international notoriety. She was even personally awarded by Queen Victoria for her service. Mission agencies began to send her letters asking for counsel, advice and her presence to come and speak. At the height of her growing fame, amy was walking through the compound one night at a place where workers unbeknownst to her had dug a large pit. She fell into the pit, breaking her leg and twisting her spine in the fall, and that injury would leave her bedridden for the rest of her life. She would write in her journal the quote we are not asked to understand but simply to obey Those 20 bedridden years turned out to be amazingly profitable. She would write a half a dozen books, along with poetry that has inspired thousands of people to make their lives count for Christ, to accept this personal call to go, to go, to go to build a life with precious gifts to Christ, costly sacrifices, a work that would please the Lord.
Speaker 2:And I want to pause here for just a moment because I want to read you some thoughts that were encouraged by Warren Wearsby. His wonderful little book actually introduced me to Amy Carmichael's ministry. Wearsby asked the question. He pastored Moody Church. He's still alive, though deaf. He is still writing in his early 90s. But he asked the question what church today would support a missionary like Amy Carmichael? Consider these facts She spent nearly 60 years in the field and never once came home to report to her supporters.
Speaker 2:Consider that she went to the field under the authority of one board but she did pretty much her own thing, upsetting conventional norms, ignoring the caste system, dressing like an Indian woman and demanding that everyone in her mission go by an Indian name, not English. Consider the fact that she left her mission board and started her own without asking. Consider the fact that she went to the field to carry on one kind of ministry but within a few years began an entirely different ministry that got her into trouble with the law. In fact, on one occasion she faced a seven-year sentence in prison for assisting in the kidnapping of a child. The case was dropped. Consider the fact that the reports she mailed home were often too strange to be believed or too shocking to be heard. Consider the fact that she was asked repeatedly to return home for a visit, but she refused to leave her mission. Besides, she said I found this in one of her writings she didn't have time and wouldn't fly in one of those new airplanes anyway because, as far as she was concerned, since the devil was the prince of the power of the air, she had no desire to fly through his territory. Consider the fact that the final 20 years of her ministry, she was practically an invalid, directing the work from her bedroom.
Speaker 2:Who would support a missionary like that, stubborn, determined, strong-willed, typically given to be against whatever the status quo tended to be? In fact, i discovered this when she was 80 years old. She would read a reviewer's comment that her books were popular. Popular, she wrote. Lord, is that what these books written out of the heat of battle are, to people, popular. Oh Lord, burn my books to ashes. To aspiring missionary candidates she wrote with realism. She, having been to India, immediately identified with it. She told them that they would never make it in India as a missionary unless they brought with them a sense of humor and absolutely no sense of smell. She would tell other candidates that, above everything else, serving with her would offer them only one thing a chance to die. She lived up to her life verse. She gave God precious sacrifices that cost much.
Speaker 2:When Amy died in 1951 at the age of 83, she left behind a magnificent legacy built upon the foundation of Christ precious, priceless lives of hundreds of children whose lives were physically and spiritually rescued by the gospel. I found it interesting to discover this in one of the reports that I read, biographical reports. As deaf-neared, she insisted that no grave marker be placed where she was buried. She wanted absolutely no temptation left to her mission to create some kind of shrine in her honor. She forced them to promise They honored her wish to a point. On top of her grave they placed a simple bird bath bearing a little plaque on that bird bath with one word engraved ama. I couldn't help but think of the irony that so many children had found a home because she had been willing to give up hers.
Speaker 2:You get the sense of studying and even hearing tonight a brief overview of her life that she lived for this day of reckoning, she would be evaluated and rewarded, as her life first said, for its quality Qualities that we all should pursue of authenticity and integrity and truth and humility and perseverance and love and faith and more.
Speaker 2:This is what the apostle Paul meant when he referred to a life built upon the foundation of Christ, with priceless deeds of gold and silver and precious stones to embrace personally the call, here or anywhere, of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. I close with the words to a poem that she wrote that reveals her attitude toward life and ministry and even suffering The kind of life she wanted that would matter. Free me from prayer that asks that I may be sheltered from winds that beat on thee, from fearing when I should aspire, from faltering when I should climb higher, from silken self. O Captain, free thy soldier who would follow thee From subtle love of softening things, from easy choices, weakening, from all that dims thy Calvary. O Lamb of God, deliver me, give me the love that leads the way, the faith that nothing can dismay, the hope. No disappointments tire The passion that will burn like fire. Let me not sink to be a clawed. Make me thy fuel, o flame of God.
Speaker 1:That was Stephen Davie, the President of Wisdom International. You're listening to his series called Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith. If you enjoyed hearing the story of Amy Carmichael, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast or wherever you're listening, And please subscribe so that you won't miss an episode. Stephen has a website filled with resources to help you know what the Bible says, understand what it means and apply it to your life. Learn more at wisdomonlineorg. I'm Scott Wiley. Thanks for listening. Join us again next time on Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith.
