As Gladys showed, obeying the scripture brings blessing

The Bible repeatedly admonishes its readers to be obedient to what it teaches. It clearly indicates that there are repercussions, both negative and positive, in direct proportion to that obedience … or lack thereof.

For example, James 1:22-25 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.”

It’s always encouraging to hear of someone who has discovered that obeying the scripture brings blessing. Gladys Aylward (1902-1970) is a remarkable example of simple obedience to what she believed God wanted her to do.

Gladys regularly read and endeavoured to obey the Bible. A passage that significantly impacted her was Isaiah 58:10-11.

It says, “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

She read it, was inspired by it and acted upon it.

In 1930, she spent her life savings to purchase a ticket and left England to sail for China. There, she opened a home for orphaned children who had been left to wander the streets and starve.

When the Japanese invaded China, Gladys took flight. She trekked through the countryside for 12 days with 100 children in her care. She faced constant danger and difficulty and earned the Chinese nickname “Virtuous One,” as she became “mother” to all of them.

Years later, when she was publicly honoured, she humbly explained, “I did not choose this. I was led into it by God. I’m not really more interested in children than I am in other people. But God gave me to understand that this is what He wanted me to do — so I did it!”

“It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” B. Miller

(Gladys’ story is found in “The Small Woman,” written by Allen Burgess, and in “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness,” a movie starring Ingrid Bergman).

Pastor Ross Helgeton is senior pastor at Erskine Evangelical Free Church.