Faithfulness and Humility

As a follow up to my post below (titled "Now Reading") I want to share an inspiring quote regarding William Carey. As I mentioned before, Carey is called the "Father of Modern Missions" because of his pioneering work in India. The record of his 40 years of service in that country is staggering... although he did many other things, in fact too numerous to mention, his main passion was Bible translation. In the painting above, Carey is pictured with his Indian "pundit" (local scholar) who was by his side for many of his works. In all, Carey produced Bible translations as follows:

The entire Bible - Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Marathis, Sanskrit, and Assamese.
The New Testament and portions of the Old - Punjabi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Telegu, and Kokani.
New Testament only - Nineteen other languages
At least one Gospel - Five additional languages

Unbelievable! And yet, despite these remarkable achievements, Carey never lost his sense of wonder and gratitude for the grace of God, the beautiful Gospel message, and his own salvation. Near the end of his life, he was visited by a missionary colleague who gave the following account of his last encounter with this fascinating, faithful, yet exceedingly humble man:

"At this point I paid my last visit. He (Carey) was seated near his desk in the study, dressed in his usual neat attire. His eyes were closed, and his hands clasped together. On his desk was the proof-sheet of the last chapter of the Bengali New Testament, which he had revised a few days before. His appearance, as he sat there, with his few white locks and his placid, colourless face, filled me with a kind of awe; for he seemed as one listening to his Master's summons, and as ready to go. I sat there for about half an hour, without a word, for I feared to break that silence, and to call back to earth the spirit that seemed almost in Heaven. At last, however, I spoke, and well do I remember the very words that passed between us. I said, 'Dear friend, you seem to be standing on the very border of the eternal; do not think it wrong, then, that I ask your thoughts and feelings.' The question roused him, and, opening his eyes, he earnestly answered, 'I know in Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. But when I think that I am about to appear in God's holy presence, and I remember all my sins, I tremble.' He could say no more. The tears trickled down his cheeks, and he relapsed into the silence from which I had aroused him."

George Gogerly, as quoted in "The Pioneers"