In
the two last magazines we have traced the early influences on the life of David
Livingstone, one of Congregationalism’s finest figures, born two hundred years
ago last month, and seen how his life was spent evangelizing and exploring in
Africa. This final article attempts to assess his life and draw lessons for us
two centuries later.
It is
always difficult to assess the life of an historical figure writing decades or even
centuries later, and that must be true of a complex character like David
Livingstone. We have already commented
on the criticism that he faced for concentrating on exploration rather than
evangelism, and on the frequent inter-personal problems that he had with those
with whom he worked. How can we evaluate this, and what more needs to be said?
We
are all products of our own age, and life is very different in the United
Kingdom at the end of the second Elizabethan age, compared to how it was at the
beginning of the Victorian era. Despite
the political uncertainties, Africa today is a largely open continent. Television, jet travel, foreign holidays and
the computer age mean that we can know as much about it as we do about other
parts of Europe or even of the United Kingdom.
The people of Livingstone’s day knew less about Africa than we do about
Mars. Those who criticize Livingstone
for being more of an explorer than a missionary need to remember this!
The
evils of the slave trade too were much more open in the nineteenth century than
they are today, and Livingstone’s conviction that Western civilization and
commerce, along with the Gospel, would eradicate this wickedness was an
understandable one. Some might even say
that subsequent events have proved him right.
That
Livingstone was a difficult person to live and work with seems undeniable. It is hard to think that he would have
achieved so much as an explorer, and endured so much personal tragedy if he had
not been such a determined and independently minded man. One man’s determination is another man’s
stubbornness, however, and perhaps we would have to admit that his behavior was
sometimes unhelpful in many ways.
Looking
at his personality through modern eyes, however, more than one modern medically
minded Christian has noted in his life and diaries a pattern of alternating
highs and lows that were often not to be explained by circumstances. At least one expert has concluded that
Livingstone probably suffered from what we would now call manic depressive
disorder, a condition that also appeared to be present in his brother and two
sisters. Perhaps that was the case, but
even if not, we are reminded again of the truth that we see so often in the
Scripture; God uses deeply flawed individuals to do His work!
That
Livingstone was a thoroughly converted man cannot be doubted. The depth of his conversion experience and of
his subsequent dedication to Christ is well attested. He never lost sight of the greatness of the
Gospel, nor lost his burden to take the good news to the lost. He had a great stamina as a missionary,
spurred on by his biblical belief that God was going, in time, to call men and
women to Himself from every nation in the world. He also saw that though he might be called to
be a pioneer who would begin the work in Africa, later generations would be
wonderfully transformed by the message he carried. His own words are interesting, as we compare
the one African conversion that could be attributed to Livingstone’s work with
the many hundreds of thousands converted in Africa during the twentieth
century;
“… when we view
the state of the world and its advancing energies … we see the earth filling
with the knowledge of the glory of God, - ay, all nations seeing His glory and
bowing before Him whose right it is to reign.
Our work and its fruits are cumulative.
We work towards another state of things.
Future missionaries will be rewarded by conversions for every
sermon. We are their pioneers and
helpers. Let them not forget the watchmen
of the night – us, who worked when all was gloom, and no evidence of success in
the way of conversion cheered our path.”
Not only has
Livingstone been proved correct abundantly, but his faith serves as an example
to all who serve God in barren days, us included.
What was the secret of such dogged
perseverance and commitment? The answer
shines clearly from his own diaries and writings and from the testimony of
those who knew him and worked with him.
He had a great desire for God, a personal humility about his own gifts,
and a longing for Jesus Christ to be proclaimed and glorified in the lives of
men and women. He was never satisfied
with his level of experience of Christ or of personal sanctification, but always
wanted to know more of Him. Are you like
that?
The Africans amongst whom he worked
give the most eloquent of testimonies to his love for them. They would have been sensitive to any
patronizing, superior or racist attitude towards them, but they recognized in
Livingstone a man who genuinely loved them and desired their welfare. How else can you explain the fact that two of
his African associates were willing to carry his body those 1500 miles on the
journey back to eventual burial in Westminster Abbey?
