the honor of suffering

"At thirty-two [John G.] Paton accepted the call to missionary service in the New Hebrides in the South Pacific. In March of 1858 he married Mary Ann Robson, and on April 16 they sailed together for the cannibal island of Tanna. In less than a year they had built a home and Mary had given birth to a son. But on March 3, 1859, one year after their marriage, Mary died of the fever, and in three weeks the infant son died. John Paton buried them alone, and wrote, "But for Jesus... I'd have gone mad and died beside that lonely grave."

One of the gifts that Jesus had given him to sustain him in those days were the words his wife spoke before her death. She did not murmur against God in her final sickness, or resent her husband bringing her to the New Hebrides. Rather she spoke these incredible words: 'I do not regret leaving home and friends. If I had it to do over, I would do it with more pleasure, yes, with all my heart.' "

- The Pleasures Of God (by John Piper)

Philippians 1:29

"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake..."