The Cricketer Who Counted It All Loss

In 1884, C.T. Studd was the most celebrated cricketer in England. Captain of the Cambridge team, national sporting hero, heir to a vast fortune — his name appeared in every London newspaper. Society doors swung open at his approach. He had, as Paul might say, every reason for confidence in the flesh.

Then Studd heard the call of Christ to the mission field in China, and everything shifted. He gave away his entire inheritance — every pound of it — to ministries like George Mueller's orphanages and the Salvation Army. Friends were baffled. His family protested. The sporting world mourned the loss of their golden boy.

Studd simply said, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

He spent the next fifty years in China, India, and the heart of Africa, often sick, frequently broke, always pressing forward. He never looked back at the trophy cases or the roaring crowds. He had found what Paul described — the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. The cricket pitch, the family wealth, the social standing — it was all rubbish compared to that.