Safe in the Arms of Jesus
By Steve Brandon, September 2006

While on vacation this summer, one of the books that I immensely enjoyed reading was John Paton’s autobiography.  I’ve read portions of it before, but have never attempted to read all the way through it.  As it turns out, I didn’t make it all the way through to the end.  However, I was so impressed with his incredible faith that I wanted to share it with you in this article. 

In part 1 of this volume, John Paton describes his efforts to bring the gospel to the cannibals on the island of Tanna, a remote island in the New Hebrides, in the South Pacific.  He was on Tanna for four years (1858-1862), until finally, he was forced to flee for his life to a nearby island (Aneityum) that was more friendly.  In so doing, he was forced to abandon all of his earthly possessions, except the clothes he was wearing, his Bible, and some of his translational work.  All of his other possessions were plundered by the natives and sold.  Years later, the Lord used John Paton’s testimony to see many of those on Tanna converted.

What made this reading so fascinating was the tension that the gospel created in the lives of these cannibals.  John Paton modeled the love of Christ to them by serving them in times of need, caring for their sick, promoting peace upon the island, and never harming anyone. He brought to them the message of  life:  that sins can be forgiven through faith in Jesus. But, they stubbornly preferred to live in their wicked ways.

Their fathers had always made war on the island, not peace, lacking any sense of remorse for killing and eating their victims.  They had never known any religion other than the worship of pagan gods, which sharply opposed John Paton’s message of Jesus.  They hated the demands that the gospel made upon their lives, and, thus, they hated the bearer of this message. 

Paton’s life on Tanna reads like a high-suspense action novel as he faced brushes with death many times.   Through all of these troubles, John Paton continually responded with great faith in the Lord.  Believing himself to be safe in the arms of Jesus, he considered himself immortal until his work was done.  In this article, I describe a few instances of the life-threatening events that took place, finishing each story with Paton’s own perspective on his trust in the Lord through these difficulties.  May the faith of John Paton encourage us in our faith as well (Rom. 1:12).

On one occasion, John Paton noticed that a “wild Chief followed me for four hours with his loaded musket, ... often directed towards me” (p. 117).   Paton said, “I spoke kindly to him, and attended to my work as if he had not been there, fully persuaded that my God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done. ... I felt His supporting power, as did St. Paul, when he cried, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’  ... I had my nearest and dearest glimpses of the face and smile of my blessed Lord in those dread moments when musket, club, or spear was being leveled at my life” (p. 117).

On another occasion when Paton was working on his house, “a large party of armed men, surrounded the plot where I was working. ... Every man leveled a musket straight at my head” (p. 125).  Paton knew that “Escape was impossible.  Speech would only have increased my danger. ... I prayed to the Lord Jesus, either Himself to protect me or to take me home to His Glory.  I tried to keep working on at my task, as if no one was near me.  In that moment, as never before, the words came to me, -- “Whatsover ye shall ask in My Name, I will do it”; and I knew that I was safe” (p. 125).  As they began to back away, Paton sensed that they “seemed to be urging one another to fire the first shot.  But my dear Lord restrained them once again, and they withdrew, leaving me with a new reason for trusting Him with all that concerned me for Time and Eternity” (p. 126).

At one point, he and some of his converts were named as victims to be killed and eaten during a certain heathen festival.  Upon hearing this, Paton summoned all of them and locked them in his house shortly before the killers came upon them.  Throughout the morning and well into the afternoon, they were heard outside his house tramping around and whispering to each other near the door and window.  Inside, they waited and prayed for the Lord to protect them or to take them to glory.  Paton gives his perspective with these words, “Our safety lay in our appeal to that blessed Lord who had placed us there, and to whom all power had been given in Heaven and on Earth.  He that was with us was more than all that could be against us.  This is strength; this is peace: -- to feel, in entering on every day, that all its duties and trials have been committed to the Lord Jesus, -- that, come what may, He will use us for His own glory and for our real good! ... Towards sundown, constrained by the Invisible One, they withdrew from our Mission House, and left us once more in peace.  They bore away the slain to be cooked and distributed among the Tribes, and eaten in their feast” (p. 139).  Such experiences only gave Paton greater reason to trust Jesus in greater degree.  He writes, “Oh that all my readers may learn something of this in their own experience of the Lord!  I can wish them nothing more precious” (p. 139).

John Paton wasn’t the only missionary on the island.  A certain Mr. and Mrs. Mathieson lived on the other side of the island.  At one point, they were in need of some European food.  In order to come to their aid, Paton risked life and limb in a canoe ride, as well as a walk through dangerous regions in the darkness.  When he reached a certain small cliff, he said, “I feared that I might stumble over and be killed; or, if I delayed till daylight, that the Savages would kill me” (p. 147).  Praying through his journey, he finally arrived safely at the Mathieson home.  When the Natives heard this story, they told him, “Surely any of us would have been killed!  Your Jehovah God alone thus protects you and brings you safely home.”  Paton replied, “Yes! And He will be your protector and helper too, if only you will obey and trust in Him” (p. 148).

Another fellow laborer had come to join John Paton, Mr. and Mrs. Johnston.  Only a few months after they had arrived to help in the work, two men, armed with huge clubs and black painted faces came calling on them, requesting medicine for a sick boy.  Paton invited them into his home to give it to them.  However, once in his home, Paton realized their true intentions.  “At once, it flashed upon me, from their agitation and their disguise of paint, that they had come to murder us” (p. 153).  They attempted to club Mr. Johnston, who had fallen on the ground to avoid a swing.  Mr. Johnston yelled to John Paton, “Take care!  These men have tried to kill me, and they will kill you!”  Only the heroic action of a few of Paton’s dogs gave them escape.  Later, Paton reflected upon this encounter.  He said, “During the crisis, I felt generally calm, and firm of soul, standing erect and with my whole weight on the promise, ‘Lo! I am with you always.’  Precious promise!  How often I adore Jesus for it, and rejoice in it!” (p. 154).

The same God that protected John Paton through all these difficulties is our God as well.  Paton’s model of trust demonstrates that God is faithful and worthy to be trusted, even with our lives.  May we strive to imitate the faith of John Paton.