“A DEAR AND MERCIFUL SAVIOR”

“A Dear And Merciful Savior”

Do you know why most English towns have a Havelock Street, Road, or Square?

IN 1815 a young Englishman named Henry Havelock joined the army as a second lieutenant. At that time promotions in the British army were purchased. When his father lost his fortune in 1820, Havelock realized that his only hope for advancement was in India, where they could be earned without purchase. Consequently in 1823 he embarked for India.

On the boat Havelock became friends with James Gardner, a young lieutenant. Gardner lent Havelock Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn, the story of the chaplain of the East India Company, who had made the same voyage in 1805 that Havelock was now making. Martyn had also been a bright, outwardly moral young man, similar to Havelock in many ways. After college Martyn had experienced a definite “conversion,” a word that Havelock disliked intensely. Yet Havelock was struck by the last entry in Martyn’s journal, made a few days before his death at age thirty-one, when he wrote of the sweet comfort of peace that he had received from God.

The next book Gardner lent to Havelock was by Thomas Scott. The author traced his spiritual journey from a position very similar to that of Havelock, telling of his pride in his own self-sufficiency and his denial of the deity of Christ. Scott had been slowly influenced by John Newton, the hymn writer and former slave trader, and came to realize that Christ was the Son of God and placed his faith in him.

Despite his reservations, Havelock began to have a sense that Gardner, Martyn, and Scott were right and that faith in Jesus Christ might meet his own deepest needs. As Gardner guided him through the relevant Bible passages, Havelock came to know “a dear and merciful Saviour who will never cease to be kind to those who come to him in faith.”

Havelock had a long and distinguished career in India. He served in the war against Burma (1824–1826), in the first Afghan war (1838–1842), in the first Sikh war (1845–1846), and in the invasion of Persia (1856).

Havelock particularly distinguished himself during the Indian mutiny of 1857, when the native regiments of the British army took control of large areas of India. From July through November Havelock won twelve battles against the mutineers in spite of being outnumbered every time. His son, Harry, served as his aide-de-camp.

Of even greater satisfaction to Havelock than sharing military victories with his son was the personal victory Harry experienced. Young Harry had come to India with the belief that his father’s faith was an unnecessary luxury. But as Harry spent day after day at his father’s side, he came to share the widely held conviction that his father was the most brilliant soldier of his day. Harry realized that his father’s success could not be separated from his absolute trust in Christ as his counselor and friend. Finally in November of 1857 Harry accepted his father’s Savior as his own.

When news of Havelock’s first three victories trickled back to London, he was promoted to major general and knighted. Unknown to him, on November 19, 1857, the queen made Havelock a baron, and Parliament voted lifetime pensions for both Henry and his son, Harry, a few days later.

When newspapers from London finally arrived in India reporting these adulations, what meant the most to Havelock was not that his name was now a household word throughout England but that the nation recognized him as a Christian general.

The day after reading those newspapers, Henry Havelock came down with dysentery and died four days later in the arms of his son. Harry wrote his mother, “His end was that of a just man made perfect.”

Reflection

Henry Havelock let the world know that the secret to his success was his faith in Jesus Christ. Because he was empowered by God, he was able to bring glory to God in a way that all could see. Does being a Christian make a difference in your work? Do you consciously seek to glorify God as you fulfill your responsibilities?

Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:16