Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, how small a whisper do we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?

Job 26:14

We live in a world filled with the mystery of God’s providence. As one encounters the passion narratives in John’s gospel, he/she likely wonders at the brutal beating, taunting, and lashing of Jesus Christ, culminating in his being nailed to a cross and hung up until asphyxiated. Seems a strange way for God to save the world, does it not? And yet Christ followers rejoice. Why? Because that brutal death followed by a glorious resurrection brings to us a new life both here and, ultimately, in eternity. We know but a whisper of God, and yet what we know is often still shrouded in mystery.

In 1866, a very high-spirited and rugged young man by the name of James Chalmers left his native Scotland for the South Pacific. It was said that there was something “almost hypnotic” about Chalmers and his love for Christ. Robert Louis Stevenson, famous British author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, did not like missionaries as a manner of course, but about his meeting with Chalmers, he said, “He is rowdy, but he is a hero. You can’t weary me of that fellow. He took me fairly by storm.” People were enamored with Chalmers, both with his playful personality and his rugged good looks. These served him well as a missionary, and within a few years in the New Guinea islands, cannibals were being converted to Christ, and packed churches replaced feasts on human flesh. Then, in 1901, Chalmers and another missionary named Oliver Tompkins decided to sail to an unreached portion of the island chain to share Christ with natives there. On Easter morning, they went ashore, along with twelve native Christians, and were never heard from again. A rescue party was eventually sent out, and from them it was learned that the entire party was clubbed to death and cannibalized.

Why? Does it not seem strange how God’s providence works? Why do successful missionaries and devout followers of Christ meet their end in this manner? We know little of Tompkins except that he was willing to risk his life to share Christ with people who were different from him in virtually every conceivable way. Chalmers was better known and apparently shared that same courage and commitment. How much more could have been accomplished for the kingdom of God had these men been allowed to live? Chalmers had proven himself very important to the cause of missions in his generation. He was well-loved and respected to boot. Surely many more men and women would have heard and responded to the gospel had he been permitted to live into his nineties.

If I were the author of Chalmers’s life, I would not have ended it that way. It strains our faith at times to consider the ways of God—yet Jesus was murdered. Of his twelve disciples, most were likely murdered. Dozens of followers of Christ will be murdered today across the globe. They all join a noble assembly of believers, famous and not so famous, before the throne of a perfectly righteous and loving God whose ways are beyond understanding.

"A glorious band, the chosen few, on whom the Spirit came. Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew, and mocked the cross and flame. They met the tyrant’s brandished steel, the lion’s gory mane, they bowed their necks the death to feel, who follows in their train?

A noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid. Around the Savior’s throne rejoice, in robes of light arrayed. They climbed the steep ascent to heav’n through peril, toil, and pain. O God, to us may grace be given, to follow in their train."  – Reginald Heber

The purpose (not the history) surrounding Chalmers’s death is a mystery to us. So are, in many ways, the storyline of Christ’s passion. Its purpose is more clearly outlined for us in Scripture, and yet the manner in which it was worked out remains graphic and, dare we say, troubling. I’m glad to be numbered in the same faith as Chalmers. I am eternally grateful to be numbered as a disciple of Jesus. Nevertheless, God’s providence remains at times a mystery to me. Sometimes we are asked not to explain but to take courage and press on without being told the reason why. This is when faith takes wings.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

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