'An insolvent missionary' with 'irrascibility of temper.' According to his sympathetic biographer, these were 'prominent features' of John Thomas – the man who brought Carey to India.
William Carey is known as the father of modern missions. His linguistic gifts opened up India to the gospel. But Carey might never have gone to India. He had a global missionary vision. He called for 'Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathen'. Carey devoured the 'Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage.' Inspired by the great explorer, Tahiti was one potential mission destination.
But then one man came into his life – Dr John Thomas – whose partnership decisively shaped Carey's direction, his family, and his legacy. The two men were chalk and cheese. Carey was known for his resilience. He summed up his key strength as 'I can plod.' Thomas, on the other hand, was impulsive and mercurial.
When the shout came for 'All hands on deck', the ship's surgeon Thomas was your man. He was energetic, decisive, big-hearted. When it came to planning, budgeting, and tact, Thomas was a disaster. Carey later remarked that Thomas was 'only fit to live at sea, where his daily business would be before him, and daily provision made for him'. But Thomas had a big place in Carey's heart and life. Here are seven ways that Thomas decisively affected Carey.
