Borden of Yale: A Life of Simple Yet Radical Obedience
William Borden
“Obedience, absolute and unqualified, which is made a daily principle of living, carried even into little things, this is the price of power… only as filled with His Spirit can we hope to win men from darkness to light and to faith in Christ” (Borden of Yale, Kindle location 1675).
Borden of Yale is a book worth reading in its fullness; it resonates with truth and is an inspiring story of a young man who dedicated his life to following Christ in all things. Thus, I recognize my inability to fully recount nearly all elements of William Borden’s incredible life in this short blog post. Still, I hope I can at least describe a few of the key ideas and moments from Borden’s life, as described in Borden of Yale, a posthumous biography of his life.
Borden was a successful academic, and a wealthy business owner—a millionaire, in fact. In fact, the book states, “No one would have known from Borden’s life and talk that he was a millionaire… but no one could have helped knowing that he was a Christian and alive for missions” (1761). Thus, much more truly, he was a missionary; his identity was rooted in Christ and the call to obey the commands of Jesus. Even from a young age, Borden was committed to becoming a missionary—though, “his father wanted him to wait until he was twenty-one before committing himself to any vocation” (570).
Again, this blog post will not describe Borden’s life or story in full chronology; if you’d like to experience his story, I do recommend you read the book. Instead, I will describe a few key themes from the book and from Borden’s life. These are themes that are also particularly inspiring for me in how they connect to my own story; I hope they are meaningful and inspirational to you as well.
On Rhythms, Habits, & Prayer
William Borden understood the importance of daily spiritual disciplines in the life of the believer. The book states that he got up “every morning in time to have Bible study and prayer before beginning the day’s work” and that he believed it made a vast different in his life (805). In fact, “Borden missed his devotions only once or twice” in a term—to him, his devotions were “next in importance to accepting Christ” (834). This belief, though, did not come out of a sense of legalistic duty—rather, Borden knew that he needed to rely on Christ and wait upon his God; otherwise, “things would go wrong” (834) throughout the day. How true, as our God cares about the details of our life and will intervene—both externally in our life and internally in our hearts—when we ask Him. We become, as Borden did, truly ourselves when we are communing with our Father.
Borden was incredibly busy during college—in addition to his studies, he was active in football, baseball, wrestling, academic organizations, and more—and, he regularly participated and led Bible studies, prayer meetings, and other ministry activities on campus. In all that he did, though, he had the “missionary motive” (1122)—the understanding that every facet of his life was impacted by the Gospel. He also dedicated himself to prayer and considered it “his most important work, as well as the breath of his life” (1131).
Even amid his busy schedule—including keeping to his study schedule and spiritual disciplines—Borden found joy in all of it, including in the day-to-day aspects of life. He knew how to rest, and how to play—specifically, he loved to sail in his yacht. His joy and strength were, according to those who knew him, rooted in his prayer-life: “No matter what the weather might be, he would always hand over his trick at the wheel and go below for his times of quiet” (1244). “His laugh was always the heartiest, his enthusiasm the most contagious, and his delight at doing well the most evident” (1258). Borden was a young man whose life demonstrated a security of identity—a focus more on who he was (in Christ) over his activities and successes. The work he did (which was significant) all stemmed from this identity. And that identity and joy were actualized because of the rhythms Borden made a habit of keeping in his daily life.
On Distractions & Purpose
Like Borden, I am an academic; I enjoy both teaching and learning and am currently working on the final year of my PhD coursework. While balancing my work, studies, family, and other commitments, I understand how challenging it can be to not get lost in the day-to-day decision-making, routines, and accomplishment of tasks. I often fail at this. Thus, I incredibly admire Borden’s ability to truly focus on serving Christ even in the midst of his academic rigor and responsibilities. This biography illustrates, time and time again, that Borden never lost site of his ultimate mission amid his day-to-day commitments and activities. He was focused, and his work and daily actions stemmed from the singular purpose to follow Christ and make disciples.
The stresses and concerns of this life that Borden dealt with were significant, including his strenuous studies at Princeton, extracurricular activities, even managing financial interest as he came of age and helping take care of his mother once his father passed. However, Borden recognized that he was called to love as Christ loves in every area of his life—thus, he made room for other people consistently. His home is described as “a center of hospitality” (1407). He was not distracted from the people around him, or from his call to love those people.
The book states that “his singleness of purpose helped him and gave such direction to his life that no one, even among his nearest friends, saw anything but a quiet, consistent, unhurried doing of each task that came” (1422). William Borden’s habits and rhythms of making God a priority, as discussed above, allowed him to succeed in the responsibilities God gave him in a way that did not detract from his identity. Borden lived a connected identity because all facets of his life were unified in purpose—not distracted by thoughts of fame, or wealth, or success. Rather, the reality of Christ’s sustaining presence in his life “and the strength he derived daily from the Word of God made him feel intensely the drift away from these things in modern university life” (151), as Borden always recognized that his primary call was to the mission field. Borden never lost site of this, and he always knew where he was ultimately headed. This was simply a time of preparation—and, so, nothing distracted him from “his supreme duty of preparation for his chosen work” (1448)
On Suffering: Giving Your Very Self to Christ
After college, Borden continued his education at Princeton Seminary. While Borden excelled in seminary and enjoyed much of his time there, he remarked, “The teaching about the kingdom of God is entirely with the idea that it is gradually to be brought in by our making the world better. This of course fits in with the socialistic ideas of the day, but hardly with Scripture!” (1534) Borden, of course, new that his daily acts of love and obedience made a difference; he also knew, though, that Christ had called him—as he calls all believers—to go and make disciples. Thus, Borden was frustrated by this teaching that deemphasized this quintessential component of the Christian life and call.
The introduction of the book states that it is probably true “that no young man of his age had ever given more to the service of God and humanity; for Borden not only gave his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it was manifestly a privilege rather than a sacrifice” (24). Borden was convicted that “to accept Christ as Savior meant to accept Him as Lord” (667). Thus, it should be no surprise that, at age 25, Borden gave up a life of wealth, comfort, and success to go onto the mission field. On the way to his long-term intended location of China, Borden first went to Cairo, to learn to work with Muslims from the renowned Dr. Samuel Zwemer.
Borden’s story may not appear to have a happy ending; for, soon after he arrived, he contracted cerebral meningitis. Through this, Borden encountered suffering to a significant extent—he was hospitalized and unable to do the work he had come to Cairo to do. Yet, his sufferings “did not hinder him from showing gratitude and love” to those he encountered while in the hospital (2111). He ended up dying from the illness; yet, he was able to become more like Christ through his suffering, inspiring many through his life. Dr. Walter Erdman is quoted in Borden of Yale regarding William’s life—and, he says that “the length of time God permits us to stay here is not related to a certain amount of work He wants us to do, so much as to a certain closeness of relationship to Himself He wants us to attain” (2267). Borden lived a life of close relationship with Christ, dedicated to His calling on his life—thus, Borden’s life was a full one. And now, he gets to be with his King eternally.
My I Will Statement
In his journaling, Borden wrote, “In every man’s heart there is a throne and a cross. If Christ is on the throne, self is on the cross; and if self, even a little bit, is on the throne, Jesus is on the cross in that man’s heart… If Jesus is on the throne, you will go where He wants you to go. Jesus on the throne glorifies any work or spot… Lord Jesus, I take hands off, as far as my life is concerned. I put Thee on the throne in my heart. Change, cleanse, use me as Thou shalt choose” (933).
In my journey, too, I want Jesus to be upon the throne. Recently, God called my family to the Czech Republic. This means the leaving behind of a life of security and relative comfort for the unknown; it means trusting Christ for our financial provision, relationships, work, establishment of a new home, and acceptance long-term into the country. So, as my family makes intentional steps to following God’s call for us to go, Borden’s life is an encouragement. Our role is to simply abide with Christ and obey; to give ourselves fully to Christ, and thus find ourselves in Him. Thus, despite not knowing what is to come,
I will go where He calls me to go and when He calls me to do it. I will trust Him to make a way and abide with Him through the process.
About the Author: Addison Lucchi is an Instructional & Research Librarian and Associate Professor at MidAmerica Nazarene University. He, his wife, and 11-month daughter are currently preparing to follow Christ’s call on their family to go to the Czech Republic, where they will continue hospitality-, relational-, and education-based ministry.
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