Remembering John Allen Chau

Reading about the death of John Allen Chau, a young Christian missionary got me thinking. He reportedly died whilst preaching the gospel to a remote tribe off the Indian coast. He was only 26. Seeing negative, insensitive remarks made about him struck a deep chord within me. Some questioned why he went to such a remote place and should have left the inhabitants alone in peace.

For a disciple on a mission for Christ, visiting remote places and telling them about the gospel is part of the great commission. To quote the words of Jesus in the book of Mark 16:15, he told his disciples to:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
(Mark 16:15, NKJV)

Jesus never said to preach the gospel to a selected few, he instructed them to preach to all nations. And all nations, includes all the remote places in the world. Going by the instruction Jesus gave his disciples, I am of the mindset that this young man's death was not in vain.

From the journal entry he made before his demise, it appeared the young man wanted nothing more than to live. Instead, he chose to follow the strong conviction he had in his heart to preach the gospel.

An article in The Guardian for 22nd November 2018, shared an excerpt from his journal where he engaged in a heart felt conversation with God concerning his mission. He told God:

“If you want me to get ... shot or even killed with an arrow, then so be it, I think I could be more useful alive though. “I don’t want to die. Would it be wiser to leave and let someone else continue? No. I don’t think so. I still could make it back to the US somehow, as it almost seems like certain death to stay here.”

Then he went on to say that he, “ …felt some fear but... was disappointed.” Because, they didn’t accept him right away.

Despite the fears and the disappointment he experienced, he didn't give up. He kept a log of events in his journal, which tells me his decision to embark on the mission wasn't a rash one. I came to this conclusion as a result of the notes he made in his journal.

In one of his journal entries he noted that his Bible was struck by an arrow fired by a child. This incident reminded me of the story of Stephen. When he was being stoned to death for preaching the gospel. There was a young man called Saul who was part of the instigators of Stephen’s death. Saul had persecuted the church, but later became someone who won souls for Christ.

What I find puzzling in John's case is that, the arrow could have landed on any part of his body, but it caught his Bible instead. Could it be that the child was fascinated by the Bible John was carrying or was it just a coincidence? I would never know, but it just seems interesting that John thought to record that incident in his journal. We may never know how John died, (or know if he survived, as his body hasn't been recovered), but I don’t think for a second that his mission was in vain.

The second thing that gave me the conviction that John's mission was not in vain, was in the departure letter he wrote to his loved ones. According to the guardian, he wrote them a letter saying:

“This is not a pointless thing. The eternal lives of this tribe is at hand and I can’t wait to see them around the throne of God worshipping in their own language, as Revelations 7:9-10 states.”

And he signed off with the phrase: “Soli deo gloria” (glory to God alone).

Clearly, this young man only wanted to share the gospel of Christ by taking it to the ends of the earth. Isn’t that what Jesus instructed his disciples to do? More importantly, it appears that he did it in obedience to God. Why would I say this? Because the clue was in his journal entry, when he told God that he didn’t want to die. He said this:

“If you want me to get ... shot or even killed with an arrow, then so be it, I think I could be more useful alive though. “I don’t want to die.”

But despite his reservations, he chose to continue with his mission, knowing that it could lead to death.

The third thing that makes me feel strongly that John’s mission was by no means pointless, was that his mission was reminiscent of those believers who came before him. Though John’s mission was different  to that of Stephen’s, there is a similar thread running through the two events. That is, they both interceded on behalf of their perpetrators, so that their perpetrators were not held accountable for their actions. Stephen pleaded to God on behalf of the people who stoned him to death and John pleaded to his loved ones on behalf of his killers.

It was stephen’s prayers that set the foundation for Saul’s conversion and I strongly feel that John’s plea have planted seeds that would one day flourish into bouyant plants for God’s Kingdom. Because in his final letter to his loved ones, he said this,

“Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed. Rather, please live your lives in obedience to whatever he has called you to and I’ll see you again when you pass through the veil.”

Though, we may never get to fully understand the reason why John made the trip to that remote island to preach the gospel, something tells me the foundation John laid would eventually bear fruit for God’s Kingdom. I also  believe that the mission he started would one day bring “Soli deo gloria”  that is, glory to God alone.

The full guardian article can be seen here: John Allen Chau guardian article

If this post resonates with you, the post 'Hats off to Christian Missionaries' could also give you something to think about.