"Dr. Livingstone, I presume".

This, the best known line in the history of missions, is all most people know about David Livingstone. That is unfortunate, for he was the last century's most famous missionary--and one of its holiest men. His life combines the piety of George Muller with the adventures of Indiana Jones. It is well worth our time.

BOYHOOD

Livingstone was born, 1813, in Blantyre, Scotland. He described his parents as "poor and pious". His father, Neil, was a tea merchant and had to work long hours to keep food on the table. Agnes, his mother, was one of those rare ladies who could make a shoestring into a dress and two potatoes into a meal for seven.

Their poverty, though, was in material things only. The Livingstones were "rich in good works". Neil was a Sunday school teacher; he promoted prayer meetings, distributed Christian books, and gave much to the cause of missions. But these ministries (in addition to his job) did not make him an "absentee father". He brought up his five children--in the words of one writer--to "work hard, be cheerful, love one another, and have faith in God". He was not disappointed.

His mother is described as "earnestly devout, a woman of an active, sunny, and loving nature".

Home life was enjoyable--but not loose. Neil maintained strict discipline in the family. One of his ironclad rules was "be home before sundown". One afternoon, though, David stayed out too late, found the front door locked--and spent the night on the porch! This hard training in boyhood would keep him in Africa, while his flabbier brethren were sailing for home--or worse.

David was a studious boy. At the age of ten his Sunday school teacher awarded him a Bible for reciting the 119th Psalm. The first book he bought with his own money was a Latin grammar, and by the age of 16, he was thoroughly familiar with Virgil, Horace, and other Latin classics.

But his formal education was limited by poverty. At the age of ten, he was sent to work in a textile factory. There he worked from 6 in the morning till 8 at night. But his powers of concentration were so great that he could work at a dangerous factory and study at the same time! He would put a textbook on the spinning jenny and read it as it passed by! This too, would "work together for his good". Later, he would write,

In addition to his "day job", Livingstone took classes at night--from about 8 till midnight. And then study a couple hours after school. He worked, therefore, about 18 hours a day. This, too would come in handy for the life that awaited him. For Africa would be no "safari" for David--but more like a "chain-gang".

Let me sum up the early life of David Livingstone. He was a well behaved, studious, and hard working young man, brought up in a Christian family. He was also unconverted. The only kind of reading he didn't like was of the religious variety. The last spanking he got as a boy was for refusing to read the little book, Practical Christianity, by William Wilberforce.

Who would have thought that the Scottish young man who loved literature and science--but hated Christian books--would soon become a spiritual giant!

CONVERSION

But "God gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as though they were". At the age of 20, Livingstone came across the works of Professor John Dick, especially his Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of a Future State. These "did the trick". Years later, he would describe his conversion like this:

One author adds: "He did not merely apprehend the truth. The truth took hold of him".

MISSIONARY CALL AND PREPARATION

At the time of his conversion, David had no thought of becoming a missionary. But he did believe that the salvation of sinners was every Christian's chief aim. Thus he resolved to live at subsistence level and give all of extra money to missions.

But about a year later, he would receive the "Macedonian call". He read "Dr. Gutzlaff's Appeal on Behalf of China" and made up his mind to answer it.

But this would require no small effort on his part. No romance involved here--but more hard work. Livingstone believed that a missionary must be more that "willing"--he had to be "able" as well. Thus, the young factory worker enrolled at Seminary and Medical School at the same time! About four years later, he graduated from both with honors!

He has his theological certificate and his M.D., what does he do now? He planned to take the first ship sailing to China and be off. But his friends advised him that it would be wiser to go under the auspices of "The London Missionary Society". So he applied to them for sponsorship.

About the "Society", he had this to say:

The "Society" sent him to the Rev. Richard Cecil for a "tryout". This did not go swimmingly well. The overachieving young man needed a dose of humility. And there's no better place to get it than the pulpit. His first sermon may be related in full:

"Friends, I have forgotten all I had to say".

A few months under Cecil's patient tutelage improved David's preaching considerably. And finally, the London Missionary Society approved the young man for a mission to China.

But Providence intervened. The "Opium Wars" broke out in China, and closed the door to British missionaries. But in closing one door, God opened another. The disappointed young Scot would soon meet a man who would change his life forever: Dr. Robert Moffat, missionary to South Africa.

Moffat, after 23 years on the field, was back in England stirring up support for African missions. Livingstone was spellbound by his lecture, and determined--once and for all--to sail for Africa. On November 17, 1840, he quit his country with no hesitation and no regrets.

IN AFRICA

He began his work in the north-east of what is now South Africa. The village was Kuruman, and the people were Bechuana. Within a year, he had mastered their language and was able to preach effectively. Soon, he gathered a sizable congregation of professed believers. He wrote his father, "The work of God goes on here notwithstanding all our infirmities. Souls are gathered in continually, and sometimes among those you would never have expected to see turning to the Lord. Twenty-four were added to the church last month, and there are several inquirers".

This mission station was Livingstone's "first love". He might have settled down there for a long and happy ministry. But he did not come to Africa to "build on another man's foundation". He longed to "preach the Gospel where Christ was not named". Thus, he moved about 250 north. There he met Sechele', chief of the Bechuanas at Kolobeng.

Sechele' was a cruel and wicked man. He collected wives, guzzled beer, and beat his tribe into submission. He also opposed missionary work and threatened Livingstone if he should remain.

But Sechele' had an "achilles heel"--his favorite daughter was sick. And Livingstone was a doctor. Thus, he needed him. David came to the chief's hut, treated his daughter, prayed for her, and saw her healed. This indebted the chief to Livingstone. And so he had to let him stay. This proved of eternal significance to Sechele and his people.

Livingstone began to preach. And Sechele became "the firstfruits" of his village. But his "conversion" was only partial at the time. He wanted his people to be saved, and here's how he planned to accomplish it:

But Livingstone taught Sechele', "the way of the Lord more perfectly". Over the years, the brutal chief became one of the holiest men in Africa. He quit drinking. He sent his wives (except for #1) back to their parents; and became a mighty preacher, marked for his knowledge, patience, and humility.

DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES

From Kolobeng, he continued moving northward preaching the Gospel, practicing medicine, and making maps for future missionaries. All of these journeys were beset with problems. He was once attacked by a lion and nearly killed. All the tribes he met were suspicious, and some quite threatening. Disease was carried by the tsete fly. And of course, the temperature was boiling everywhere.

But David Livingstone "endured as seeing Him who is invisible". For 33 years, he kept the faith. And they were hard years. An Englishman once cheated him out of all his money. Several times he nearly starved to death. His medicine was stolen. Racked with disease and hunger, he became "a walking skeleton". His appearance even troubled the Africans, who were accustomed to seeing death and misery every day.

But perhaps the cruellest blow was the death of his wife. Not long after coming to Africa, Livingstone wed Mary, the daughter of Dr. Moffat. She bore him several children and made a wonderful "helpmeet" for him. During most of his travels, though, she stayed behind and waited patiently for the man she loved.

But rumors had started among her white friends: "The reason David travels so much is because he can't live with you!" This slander broke Mary's heart. She asked to accompany her husband on his next adventure. And, perhaps against his better judgment, he agreed.

She sailed up the Zambesi alongside him. But three months up the river, she fell sick with a tropical disease, and died in his arms. This hit Livingstone like nothing else could. The man who had been in the jaws of a lion, had felt no pain like that. In his private journal, he wrote:

Mary Livingstone, died, therefore, as a result of gossip. And this princely man was robbed of his queen because somebody couldn't hold his tongue! Let this serve as a warning--and rebuke--the next time we think to backbite another!

"Life and death are in the power of the tongue".

The loss of Mary made Livingstone a sad man; but not a quitter. He continued his work for eleven years more. Only death could force his retirement.

STANLEY

Livingstone was one of the best known men in the English speaking world. His diaries were published and became best-sellers on both sides of the Atlantic. Although well known in Europe and the U.S., he was hard to find in Africa. His work was done in uncharted regions. He would steam up a river and be gone for months at a time and who knows where?

During a specially long expedition, rumors of his death began circulating. Was Livingstone dead or alive? And, if alive, where is he? These became matters of public interest.

Hoping for a "scoop", J.G. Bennet, publisher of the NEW YORK HERALD, hired journalist H.M. Stanley to "find Livingstone". Off he steamed to Africa. Stanley was an ungodly man--but a solid reporter. He carefully followed leads and, within a few weeks, located the great missionary in the village of Ujiji, East Africa.

There, he proved no small blessing to the emaciated preacher. Stanley brought nourishing food, fresh medicine, and new clothes; he provided company and spoke English. About the meeting, Livingstone would write,

Stanley was never converted--as far as we know--but the meeting of Livingstone had a lifelong effect on him. He could not argue with his example:

LAST JOURNEY

One more trip awaited David Livingstone. At its outset, he wrote in his diary:

He sailed up the Lualaba River; contracted a fever, and died on the banks of the Molilambo, April 29, 1873.

His body was carried by faithful friends through jungles and rivers to Zanzibar. From there it was conveyed to England. And David Livingstone, the poor Scotsman, was interred in Westminster Abbey, alongside kings, prime ministers and generals, they laid the remains of the simple preacher.

But his reward is beyond the grave. By this kind of life, Livingstone found "an entrance opened to him abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ".

APPLICATIONS

There is much to admire in the life of David Livingstone; even the ungodly could not withhold their respect. But if that's all we do, we have missed the point entirely. Paul tells us to "mark those who so walk, as you have them for an example". We are to follow Livingstone's example--and not just admire it! But how? By all becoming missionaries to Africa? Of course not. The things that made him great can be applied to every Christian life. What are they? I have a few thoughts: