A Missionator* Marriage Proposal

March 4, 2010 – 10:15 am

Mark Rogers, over at the Gospel Coalition blog, quotes the following excerpt from Courtney Anderson’s To the Golden Shore in which Judson requests his father-in-law’s permission to be Ann’s suitor:

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 Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair.

(Quoted in Courtney Anderson, To The Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson [Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1987], 83.)

Read the rest of Rogers’ post for a more detailed summary and a much needed challenge to parents and all believers.

*For a brief explanation of the title “Missionator,” see the previous MM post “Networking Tips for Missionators.”