Dead is Dead!

When John G. Paton (1824-1907) announced his plans to be a missionary in the South Sea Islands, an elderly gentleman named Mr. Dickson voiced his objection, "The cannibals! You'll be eaten by cannibals!" Paton's response? "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 worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer."