Quotes and Notes from the Autobiography of John Paton, Part 4

If you have missed the previous notes and quotes from John Paton's Autobiography please read them in the archives before continuing here.

Paton left home to serve at the Glasgow City Mission.  He did not take this responsibility lightly.  You can see some of his father’s determination in him as he worked to win the lost and minister to the hurting.

He wrote, “The city missionary was required to spend four hours daily in visitation-work; but often had I to spend double that time, day after day, in order to overtake what was laid upon me.  About eight or ten of my most devoted young men, and double that number of young women, whom I had trained to become Visitors and Tract Distributors, greatly strengthened my hands.  Each of the young men by himself, and the young women two by tow, had charge of a portion of a street, which was visited by them regularly twice every month.” 40

Imagine if we spent four hours daily in visitation work?!  Imagine if we saw the need before us and felt compelled to spend double that time?  Then imagine if we mad it our goal to train 8-10 young men and 16-20 young women to go out and visit and distribute tracts as well?  What if they followed up twice each month in these areas?  We might win the world, or be cast from it!

Our excuse is likely that they lived in a different time, and indeed they did.  We might say that we just don’t have the time.  Maybe we have the time, we are just too distracted.  Their focus on the Kingdom was so consuming that nothing deterred them.  Paton wrote, “Of other so-called ‘attractions’ we had none, and needed none, save the sincere proclamation of the Good Tidings from God to men!”  40

Paton just would not give up.  He devoted himself to ministering to one of the hardest hearts in Glasgow; a heart that no one else seemed to be able, or willing, to devote themselves to in order to reach with the gospel.  He wrote of his efforts, “Visiting him twice daily, and sometimes even more frequently, I found the way somehow into his heart, and he would do almost anything for me, and longed for my visits.”

God was truly blessing the work at Glasgow, but he had other plans for the determined Paton.  He was about to call him to one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult fields in the world.  He was going to call him to one of the most dangerous and deadly, if not the most dangerous and deadly fields in the world.  And Paton would meet it all head on.

Until next time….