When I think of people of Christian faith from the past who form the “cloud of witnesses” for my life (Hebrews 12:1), a Norwegian man named Hans Nielsen Hauge always comes to mind. I admit that my Scandinavian heritage makes me a little biased, but Hauge’s life is remarkable enough to capture the attention of people of all ethnicities.
Hauge was a farmer in southern Norway, born in 1771. Though he lacked formal education, he was by no means unintelligent. Raised in a committed Lutheran family, he nonetheless harbored doubts about his salvation. As a young man, while plowing in the fields one day and singing the hymn “Jesus, I Long For Your Blessed Communion,” Hauge experienced a moment of clarity and assurance of the love of God for him in Jesus Christ. And with that experience, Hauge felt a call to preach and help the population of his homeland.
At the time, Norway was in tough shape. It was arguably the poorest country in Europe, and it suffered terribly under the British blockade during the Napoleonic Wars. People were so poor that at times Norwegians were reduced to eating bread made of tree bark. Alcoholism was rampant. Spiritual stagnation was the norm.
But Hauge’s call led him to traverse the entire country. Preaching and leading Bible studies, Hauge also encouraged temperance with regard to alcohol, helping people to see that a committed faith in Christ leads to a changed life. Wherever he stayed, he assisted with farm chores as well as advising on efficient farm practices. Using the fire of his intellect, Hauge also taught communities to be self-sufficient by building lumber mills, paper mills, fishing operations, and other enterprises. He was even brought out of prison at one point to oversee a project to extract salt from the ocean on the Norwegian coast. Salt was in short supply in those days of the blockade.
Not everyone appreciated Hauge. During his ministry, he was constantly persecuted by Lutheran state church officials and secular authorities. At the time it was technically illegal for laypeople to preach and lead Bible studies. Hauge ended up serving ten years in prison. Upon his release, his health ruined from his imprisonment, he retired to southern Norway, considering his work a failure. He died on March 29, 1824.
But in large part due to Hauge’s ministry, the face of Norway was forever changed. The work that Hauge did across Norway gave people faith and courage, and today his ministry is widely considered to have changed Norway into a modern democratic society. The multitudes of Norwegian immigrants that came to North America also carried his legacy with them. The date of his commemoration in 2013 fell on Good Friday. It is fitting in a way, as many people consider that, as God brought good out of the suffering of Christ for the world, on a much smaller scale God also used Hauge and his suffering for his purposes. Blessed be his memory.
Hauge was a farmer in southern Norway, born in 1771. Though he lacked formal education, he was by no means unintelligent. Raised in a committed Lutheran family, he nonetheless harbored doubts about his salvation. As a young man, while plowing in the fields one day and singing the hymn “Jesus, I Long For Your Blessed Communion,” Hauge experienced a moment of clarity and assurance of the love of God for him in Jesus Christ. And with that experience, Hauge felt a call to preach and help the population of his homeland.
At the time, Norway was in tough shape. It was arguably the poorest country in Europe, and it suffered terribly under the British blockade during the Napoleonic Wars. People were so poor that at times Norwegians were reduced to eating bread made of tree bark. Alcoholism was rampant. Spiritual stagnation was the norm.
But Hauge’s call led him to traverse the entire country. Preaching and leading Bible studies, Hauge also encouraged temperance with regard to alcohol, helping people to see that a committed faith in Christ leads to a changed life. Wherever he stayed, he assisted with farm chores as well as advising on efficient farm practices. Using the fire of his intellect, Hauge also taught communities to be self-sufficient by building lumber mills, paper mills, fishing operations, and other enterprises. He was even brought out of prison at one point to oversee a project to extract salt from the ocean on the Norwegian coast. Salt was in short supply in those days of the blockade.
Not everyone appreciated Hauge. During his ministry, he was constantly persecuted by Lutheran state church officials and secular authorities. At the time it was technically illegal for laypeople to preach and lead Bible studies. Hauge ended up serving ten years in prison. Upon his release, his health ruined from his imprisonment, he retired to southern Norway, considering his work a failure. He died on March 29, 1824.
But in large part due to Hauge’s ministry, the face of Norway was forever changed. The work that Hauge did across Norway gave people faith and courage, and today his ministry is widely considered to have changed Norway into a modern democratic society. The multitudes of Norwegian immigrants that came to North America also carried his legacy with them. The date of his commemoration in 2013 fell on Good Friday. It is fitting in a way, as many people consider that, as God brought good out of the suffering of Christ for the world, on a much smaller scale God also used Hauge and his suffering for his purposes. Blessed be his memory.