James Calvert was born January 3, 1813, the son of a tenant farmer. As a boy, he was apprenticed to a printer, skills he later used in preparing the first Fijian Bible.
When he, his wife Mary, and two others left for the Fiji Islands in 1838, they were putting their lives on the line. Several missionaries to this Pacific island chain had already been killed and eaten by cannibals.
The ship’s captain tried to warn Calvert of the danger. “You’ll lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.”
Calvert responded, “We won’t die there.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“We died before we came here,” he replied.
Calvert spent 18 years in Fiji and saw God work in a great way. Through his ministry, the Fijian cannibal King Seru Cakobau was converted to Christianity, and proved it by a dramatically changed life, adding the name Epenisa (Ebenezer).
What did Calvert mean, “We died before we came here”?
You’ve got to admit it, Christian. One of the most exciting things Jesus ever said was to John on Patmos: “I WAS dead.” (Revelation 1:18, BSB) Blessed past tense! On the truth of these words hangs all our hope. For us He is now “the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25)
To be our Savior, the Lord Jesus must suffer for our sins on the cross. This wasn’t something invented by Christians. The ancient Hebrew prophets often spoke of this.
Daniel wrote that Messiah would be “cut off, but not for Himself.” (Daniel 9:26) And the purpose? “To make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.” (v 24)
Isaiah clearly declared: “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:4-5)
And the beloved David penned these words, leaving no doubt as to the nature of His death: “They pierced My hands and My feet.” (Psalm 22:16)
It wasn’t enough, however, for our Savior to die. He must defeat death and rise again, providing a path for the believer through death into “the power of an endless life.” (Hebrews 7:16)
But what does that mean to those claiming to be Christians in the 21st century? This may come as a shock to you.
Do you recall what Jesus said was the responsibility of His followers? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
The cross wasn’t a decoration; it was an instrument of death—a daily reminder of what happened when Jesus died for me. “Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NLT)
Practically, then, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3, BSB)
So that’s what Calvert meant, and what I mean when I say No to my wants and Yes to my Savior’s will for me.
If you live this way, you’ll be dead right every time.
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Saturday, March 8, 2025.