April 8. James Chalmers. Chalmers was known to be a stubborn man—a stubborn man on fire to be the first one to preach to a group of people who needed Jesus. So Chalmers and his first wife Anne sailed to the Cook Islands northeast of New Zealand. Part-way there, they were shipwrecked, stranded, and rescued by a pirate ship. And the pirate leader allowed Chalmers to preach for the rest of the journey.
For 10 years James served in the Cook Islands, and then for another 24 years in New Guinea, he worked up and down the coast in 105 villages. He always preached Jesus. He always established a Polynesian teacher to carry on the ministry, and he always traveled unarmed—to allay some of the natives’ fear of him.
When the government offered him a position, Chalmers said, “Gospel and commerce, yes: but remember this: It must be the gospel first.… The ramparts of heathenism can only be stormed by those who carry the cross.”
To understand what it meant for Chalmers to “carry the cross” in this time and place, you need to know three things. Chalmers knew them.
The natives had never heard of Christianity and were steeped in religion of their own
A dubu is a public building for the native warriors, and it could only be used after it was consecrated by a human sacrifice. Wooden idols stood in the corner, and human skulls were piled near them.
The natives would never know Jesus if someone didn’t tell them, and Jesus had said—as you’re going, tell them.
So—knowing all that, on this date in 1901, Chalmers headed for a new-to-him remote village. When Chalmers and his party arrived, the natives leapt with joy; they were delighted to welcome the group to the island. Shortly, they invited Chalmers and his missionary partner into the dubu for refreshments, fell upon the men, dismembered them, and passed the limbs to the women, who cooked them with herbs. That was Easter Sunday, 1901. Chalmers knew what it meant to “carry the cross.”
When we’re secure in our future, we can be fearless in our present.
When Chalmers and his wife arrived at New Guinea, it “was an unknown land, full of terrors, savagery, and human degradation.… there were some uncomfortable habits (cannibalism) … and the sanctity of human life was unknown, and every man was a thief and a liar.” The men were most proud of their tattoos, but they were only entitled to wear one when they had murdered someone. Chalmers intended to introduce the New Guinea cannibals to Jesus.
“Chalmers’ fearlessness must have been a great factor of success in his hazardous work. He disarmed men by boldly going amongst them unarmed …”
As Chalmers’ boat gently bobbed up and down outside another primitive village, they waited a short distance from the shore, in their usual way, so the villagers had time to notice the strange vessel in the water and to take in the shock of seeing a white man for the very first time.
In the hot New Guinea sun, suspicious native protectors—a host of armed savages with barbaric markings on their faces, sticks in their noses, and human bones around their necks—got into their canoes and paddled out to Chalmers’ boat.
Chalmers spoke peacefully and gave them gifts—things like pieces of hoop iron and red braid. He let them know that he was leaving, but he would be back to tell them about a great Being they didn’t know. He had a way about him that instantly disarmed them.
A short time later, Chalmers did return to the village with his wife. Greeted with a warm welcome, they touched their noses and their bellies and then nose-rubbed, as was the custom. The village chief invited them to his home. Human skulls decorated the room, and blood-stained weapons lined the walls. Mrs. Chalmers did her best not to let her angst show.
Chalmers and his wife built their own hut in the village and began to teach the villagers about Christ. One afternoon, as they labored, a group of armed savages surrounded them and yelled, “Tomahawks, knives, iron, and beads!” The villagers said that, if the missionaries didn’t supply these things, they would be killed.
Chalmers told them, “‘You may kill us, but never a thing will you get from us.’ He always refused to make terms with force.” The missionaries spent a very anxious and restless night in their hut. The next morning the leader of the angry visitors returned, only in a very different manner.
Apologetic about the previous night’s escapades, he wanted to be friends.
“Now you are unarmed,” Chalmers said, “we are glad to make friends with you.” He invited the once hostile villager into his hut and offered him gifts and conversation. And he won the hearts of the cannibal groups all along the coast for Christ.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27: 1, NIV).
What frontier might God be calling you to pursue, in spite of fears that stand in your way? What steps can you take today to begin moving your life in this direction of obedience? When we’re secure in our future, we can be fearless in our present.
Mathews, Basil. “James Chalmers: The Boy of the Adventurous Heart.” Wholesome Words. Children’s Corner. Missionary Biographies and Adventures. Wholesomewords.org. Accessed August 15, 2020.
https://www.wholesomewords.org/children/heroes/hchalmers.html
Royer, Galen B. “James Chalmers: Fiery Missionary of the South Sea Islands.” Wholesome Words. Missionary Biographies. Wholesomewords.org. Accessed August 15, 2020.
https://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bchalmer3.html
https://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bchalmer3.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Chalmers
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901_2000/chalmers-and-co-clubbed-to-death-on-the-fly-11630669.html
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/chalmers-james-3187
Story read by Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/
Story written by: Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/