John G. Paton
One of my heroes in the faith is John Paton. A friend gave me his biography 8-9 years ago and it remains my favorite to this day. You see, John Paton felt called to share the gospel in the New Hebrides, a chain of islands in the Pacific. There was one problem, these people were considered to be the most brute and savage heathens one could imagine. They ate the flesh of their defeated foes, practiced infanticide, and sacrificed their widows (in order that they might serve their deceased husbands in the next life). Captain James Cooke, after visiting the islands in 1774, pronounced, “no one would ever venture to introduce Christianity here…because neither fame nor profit would offer the requisite inducement.” …… which basically means, “nobody would see any reason for bringing the gospel here.”
Yet, gospel workers came………and most of them were subsequently killed by the island people. Twenty years before Paton was to go, an article in a prominent paper told of the deaths of two such workers, John Williams and James Harris, who after disembarking their vessel were immediately slaughtered by the island people and eventually eaten by them.
Still, Paton wanted to go. Indeed, he felt he must go. These people did not know Christ and he did. It was that simple for him. I’ve always liked that about him. Many of you also know I like his sense of humor. When an older man in his congregation, Mr. Dickson, found out about his desire to go to these heathens, he objected stating, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” Paton simply replied to him:
“Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.
Those words would make for humorous fodder, if they weren’t backed up such a sold out, God-besotted life as was John Paton’s (and his wife, Margaret). As it is, they are stylistic pillars, firmly planted in the ground, which constantly remind me (and us) about what our lives should really count for.
I’m putting this post up because right now, the hardcover biography of Paton’s life is on sale for a ridiculously cheap price. I can’t give any higher recommendation for a biography than this book. It will challenge your faith as you read about the successes, failures, ups, and downs for Paton and his family as they try to bring the good news to a savage people. Just click on the link here: John G. Paton Biography.
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