A teenager named Charles Thomas Studd gave his life to Christ in England in 1878. But soon after becoming a Christian, the cares of the world took priority over the things of God. C. T. Studd was no ordinary young man. He was a fierce competitor and at the age of nineteen became captain of his college cricket team. Cricket was the most popular sport in England at the time and the young Studd gained notoriety as an up and coming star.
In 1882 he was chosen to play on the national team in what came to be known as the first Ashes match in which England was upset by the Australian national team. C. T. Studd, his older brother George, and the rest of the English team redeemed themselves the next year as they travelled to Australia and defeated their rivals. Some fans called Charles the best cricket player in the United Kingdom, but while he was a well known athlete, deep down C.T. knew he was a lukewarm Christian.
In 1883 his brother George fell gravely ill and Charles was jolted into serious contemplation. “Now what is all the popularity of the world to George? What is all the fame and flattering? What is it worth to possess the riches of the world when a man comes to face with Eternity?” God healed his brother and C. T. committed himself as fully to the Lord as he had previously been committed to cricket. Of course sports fans were not happy with his change of focus, but Charles did not care. “I knew that cricket would not last, and honor would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come.”
He and six other student athletes heard the call of Hudson Taylor urging Christians to listen to Jesus’ Great Commission and spread the Gospel to all the world. “Are you living for the day or are you living for life eternal? Are you going to care for the opinion of man here, or for the opinion of God?” In 1885 this group of young men known as the Cambridge Seven went to China to serve the Lord.
C. T. Studd never looked back. In the days before airplanes and convenient travel, he spent fifteen years in China, six years in India, and over twenty years in Africa. Constantly people counseled him to return to England. He said, “Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.”
Often health issues made mission work very difficult, but C. T. depended on Christ. God’s Word gave him direction and courage. “If Jesus Christ be God, and He died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” C. T. Studd knew earthly glory, but the reality of eternity pierced his heart. “How could I spend the best years of my life living for the honors of the world, when thousands of souls are perishing every day?”
On July 16, 1931, at the age of seventy, C. T. Studd died in the Belgian Congo. His last word was: “Hallelujah.”
“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done.” Mathew 16:24-27