One of the most
influential Christians in American history is not exactly a household name. He
didn’t have a long ministry, only nine years. Nor did he pastor a megachurch or
enjoy being a “celebrity” preacher. In fact most of David Brainerd’s short life
was marked by adversity.
Coming out of the evangelistic
fervor of the Great Awakening, David gave his life to the Lord as a young man and
committed to full-time ministry at the age of twenty. Brainerd felt that God
was calling him to minister to a group of people that many in America despised,
mistreated and misunderstood—the Native Americans. Virtually on his own, David
began a new work among the Delaware Indians of Pennsylvania. But, his first
years of ministry were met with incredible hardship and he had no converts to
show for his preaching.
He confided to his journal,
“My diet consists mostly of hasty-pudding, boiled corn, and bread baked in
ashes, and sometimes a little meat and butter. My lodging is a little heap of
straw, laid upon some boards . . . My work is exceedingly hard and difficult .
. . These and many other uncomfortable circumstances attend me; and yet my
spiritual conflicts and distresses so far exceed all these that I scarce think
of them.” Despite his continual setbacks and bouts with sickness David remained
faithful, writing that he wanted “to burn out in one continual flame for God.”
The Lord would answer that prayer, but not before Brainerd’s ministry was
blessed.[1]
In 1745 while trying to
reach one especially stubborn and skeptical tribe of Massachusetts Indians, Brainerd
found himself constantly being watched by their warriors intent on killing him.
As he preached to them, the braves raised their bows, but then they noticed a
rattlesnake slithering between his feet, raising its head, flicking its tongue,
and preparing to strike. Suddenly, the snake uncoiled and glided away. The
Indians saw this as a sign from the “Great Spirit” and decided to listen to Brainerd’s
message.
It was also during that
same outreach, that the missionary started pleading in prayer for a great
spiritual awakening among the Indians. He claimed our Lord’s promise in John 7:37-39,
that those who believe in Him will experience rivers of living water flowing
from within them.
The unfolding year proved
very fruitful for his ministry. Brainerd’s Indian interpreter an alcoholic
named, Tattamy, was converted to Christ. An immediate change began to take place
in Tattamy’s life and the Holy Spirit energized him as he translated Brainerd’s
sermons. Hundreds of Indians came to saving faith in Christ and were baptized.
Meanwhile, Brainerd became an advocate for the Massachusetts Indians as he helped
secure land for them when their property was threatened and soon constructed a
church, school, carpenter’s shop, and infirmary for their people.[2]
Sadly, by the fall of 1746
Brainerd was increasingly coughing up blood. The famous theologian-pastor,
Jonathan Edwards, brought him to his home in Northampton, MA. There David
Brainerd spent his last months, succumbing to tuberculosis on October 9, 1747
at just the age of 29.
After David Brainerd's
death, Jonathan Edwards edited and published his diary, describing it as an
example of a devotional life “most worthy of imitation.” This diary was to
influence many missionaries in future generations, including William Carey and
Henry Martyn, who went to India and Jim Eliot, the twentieth century missionary
who gave his life ministering to the Auca tribes of Ecuador.
There are many enduring
lessons to take from Brainerd’s life but perhaps the most lasting is summed up
in a quote that is often attributed to Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of a Nazi
concentration camp, who said, “The measure of a life, after all, is not its
duration but its donation.” A short life can have a big impact. When it is all
said and done, it is not about simply living a long life; it is about living a
life that is full and purposeful. Not how long you lived, but how you lived. You are going to give
your life for something. What will it be — a career, a sport, a hobby, fame,
wealth? None of these will have lasting significance. In Christ’s Kingdom service
is the pathway to real significance.
As Brainerd wrote: “Oh,
how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so
little to any good purpose. Oh, that God would make me more fruitful.”
-DM
[1] Richard
De Hann, “The Cure for Self-Pity,” Our
Daily Bread, 19 November 2000 <http://odb.org/2000/11/19/a-cure-for-self-pity/>
[2] Robert
J. Morgan, On This Day (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 1997), entry for January 3.
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