“I believe that each generation God has ‘called’ enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. . . . . No, it is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond.”
—Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand (1901–1957)
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
—Romans 10:14
Deep in the ravines of the Yunnan Province of China lay a cluster of villages that missionaries John and Isobel Kuhn called the Heathen Patch.1 On the surrounding mountains, Lisu people had embraced Jesus Christ, but the inhabitants of those dark canyons resisted His loving call. The powers of evil stood as a fortress against the incursion of the light.
The Gospel Rejected
What foreign missionaries could not do, a local Lisu evangelist finally accomplished: he led a young man from the Heathen Patch to the Lord. That young man, named Chi-lee, joined the Kuhn’s Bible classes and learned to read and write. As he grew in the Lord, Chi-lee determined to return to his village and take the gospel to his family.
One day, Chi-lee descended to his hometown deep in that dark ravine, never to return. The village leaders banished him to the jungle, spurning him and the gospel message he brought them. Even his family turned their backs on him. Without shelter, the young man contracted malaria and died.
The inhabitants of the Heathen Patch of Yunnan heard the gospel. They rejected their Savior and His messenger. However, many dark places around the world have no such opportunity.
The Gospel Unknown
Not far from the Heathen Patch, leaders from another remote village begged for a missionary to bring them the gospel message. They were not quite sure what they sought, but they had heard about the change this teaching brought to other villages where locals had believed on Jesus. The leaders of the remote village contacted the only missionary they knew—an elderly woman who physically could not trek to their particular ravine.
This woman sent word to her colleagues in the province to answer the call. But no one came. The area was too vast, the ravines too difficult, and the laborers too few. Kuhn described the dilemma:
Ten years they have waited. Do you think that when they called for gospel messengers, God did not respond? It could not be. He gave His most precious Son that all might know and receive eternal life. I think that man did not respond. It costs something to leave loved ones and the comforts of civilization. I believe that each generation God has ‘called’ enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. Why do I believe that? Because everywhere I go, I constantly meet with men and women who say to me, ‘When I was young I wanted to be a missionary, but I got married instead.’ Or, “My parents dissuaded me,” or some such thing. No, it is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!2
The pressures are real. The difficulty is not overstated. Kuhn herself knew only too well.
The Call Heard
Decades earlier while in her twenties, Kuhn had surrendered to go to the mission field. She wrote of her decision:
If [God] wanted me on the foreign field–why of course, then I must go to the foreign field. It was not a question of if I wanted to go or not—I was no longer my own [1 Corinthians 6:19]. At the time I had no clear indication that it was the foreign field He wanted. I was willing, if it were, to go—that was all.3
Her friends made a big deal about her surrender, but for Kuhn, the decision just made sense. There was nothing daring about it. But her choice would not go unchallenged.
The Call Challenged
In 1923—not long after her surrender—Kuhn met James Fraser at a Bible conference in Washington state. Fraser served among the Lisu minority in China.4 Through his testimony and description of the need, Kuhn began considering missionary work in southwestern China. She discussed the possibility with her family and found unexpected opposition. Though her mother was a Christian, she directly opposed her daughter, declaring, “You are praying to go to China, and God answers prayer, but you will go only over my dead body.”5 Caught between her growing desire to go to China and her mother’s disapproval, Kuhn prayed for wisdom as she continued preparing for missionary work at Moody Bible Institute.
God’s answer came unexpectedly. In December 1924, Kuhn’s mother underwent a minor surgery to remove a tumor. Instead of recovering, her mother passed away. Once Kuhn’s grief subsided, she realized that now nothing blocked her path to China.
A Response Demanded
Isobel Kuhn’s words are worthy of our consideration: “I believe that each generation God has ‘called’ enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. . . . . No, it is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond.”6 She echoes the apostle Paul in Romans 10:14–15: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” The Great Commission has never been rescinded. God is still calling His people to go with the gospel.
Answer the Call
For many, answering the call to go begins with a logical deduction. We belong to God. We were bought with a price when Jesus redeemed us from sin (1 Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, we should be willing to go wherever He leads because of all He has done for us.
At some level, answering the call to go is also influenced by an emotional response. Hell is real. The lost are truly in danger (Mark 9:44). Those who have never heard the gospel—whether in our hometowns or down some forgotten ravine in Asia—have no way to escape their doom (Matthew 25:46).
Like Fraser inspired Kuhn, those who have gone before us stir our imaginations about what God can do through ordinary people surrendered to Him. The sacrifice of those who gave all—like Chi-lee of Yunnan—move us to take their place. If God used them, He can use us.
Make the calculation. Surrender is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Let the plight of the lost move you to action (Luke 19:10). Draw so close to God that you catch His heart for those far from Him (2 Peter 3:9). God may lead you to the ends of the earth or to the child next door.
God is calling. Answer the call.
Help me write my upcoming book! I have written two snapshots from Isobel Kuhn’s life, and I can only include one. Which one? This article or Resisting Slow Decay? Can you compare the two articles and leave your preference in the one question survey below? The survey can also be accessed by this button.
- Read more about Isobel Kuhn and her work in China in Daring Devotion, Day 8 ↩︎
- Isobel Kuhn, Nests Above the Abyss (Singapore: OMF Books), 300. ↩︎
- Isobel Kuhn, By Searching: My Journey Through Doubt Into Faith (Chicago: Moody Press, 1959), 43. ↩︎
- Read more about James Fraser in Daring Devotion, Day 7. ↩︎
- Kuhn, By Searching, 84–85. ↩︎
- Kuhn, Nests Above the Abyss, 300. ↩︎
I’m so glad you’re bringing attention to Isobel’s life. She’s one of my favorite missionary authors.
Are you sure you can’t include both?
Each article has its own message. “Resisting” spoke to my heart because I am 65, tired, and ready for that plush curtain. But God had different plans! “Answer” stirred my heart to keep my eyes open for witness opportunities close by and to support the “young folk” who are heading across the ocean. Hope that’s helpful.