Daily Devotion

“Henry Blodget (1825–1903), a missionary of the American Board, came to China in 1854 and moved from Tianjin to Beijing in 1863. In the mid-1860s he joined W. A. P. Martin, John Shaw Burdon, Joseph Edkins and S. I. J. Schereschewsky on the Peking translation committee, rendering the New Testament into Beijing Mandarin; issued in parts over several years, the revised complete New Testament appeared in 1872, the first Bible translation in the spoken vernacular of Beijing. After forty years in China he retired to America in 1894.”

Wikipedia · Chinese Wikipedia, "白汉理"; Wikipedia, "Bible translations into Chinese" (citing Irene Eber, The Jewish Bishop and the Chinese Bible, 1999)

Scripture

Acts 17:2 Paul, as was his custom, went in and, on three Sabbaths, debated with them in accordance with the Scriptures.

Reflection

"Iron polishes iron, until a blade is forged." The years that Henry Blodget and his fellow translators spent weighing the words of the Mandarin New Testament echo the Apostle Paul's unwavering commitment to reason and debate, grounded in Scripture, to clarify Christ. Truth is never afraid of scrutiny and testing. Only a sacred sense of responsibility towards God's word can lead to such deep contemplation and spiritual exchange late into the night. This reminds us that on the path of faith, we should not succumb to blind obedience or superficiality, but rather be willing to contemplate and debate in search of the purest truth. Only through such a baptism of life and reason can the well of life we dig flow with the truly eternal waters, nourishing our thirsty souls.