Seven Rules for Daily Living

BY JONATHAN GOFORTH

Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) was a Canadian missionary to China. It is said of him that “when he found his own soul needed Jesus Christ, it became a passion with him to take Jesus Christ to every soul.”

The following rules for daily living were made by Dr. Goforth in 1894 and written on the fly-leaf of his Bible:

1. Seek to give much—expect nothing.
2. Put the very best construction on the actions of others.
3. Never let a day pass without at least a quarter of an hour spent in the study of       the Bible.
4. Never omit daily morning and evening private prayer and devotion.
5. In all things seek to know God’s Will and when known obey at any cost.
6. Seek to cultivate a quiet prayerful spirit.
7. Seek each day to do or say something to further Christianity among the lost.

“That Dr. Goforth lived up to these rules there is not the least doubt. He surpassed them. His love for the Bible is well known. His Bible was always open and he took every opportunity to read it. Even after becoming blind, he had a Chinese read to him at least twelve chapters a day. His loyalty to the Bible as the Word of God and his defense of the fundamentals of the Faith have been outstanding in his career.

“He was a man of prayer and through prayer and Bible study has sought to know God’s Will. It was this love for Bible reading and communion with God that gave him the power to move audiences to a conviction of sin and repentance. At all times he kept “self” in the background and relied wholly on the power of the Holy Spirit to take of the things of Jesus and reveal them unto his hearers. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’—’But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you’—have ever been his battle-cry. Though Dr. Goforth’s preaching contained a stern denunciation of sin and would in no case tolerate compromise with sin, he has always been very tender in dealing with the lost sinners.”

Rev. Allan Reoch.