This brings us to 1768. A 39-year-old James Cook, devoted and loyal to his wife, and a man of upstanding character says goodbye to his family and friends and sails around the world. This is a ship, made of wood, and powered by wind. Only traveling 4-5 mph. This trip takes him over 3 years to complete. He lands in Tahiti and sets up an observatory for the British Empire. He scouts out areas around Australia and New Zealand. On this voyage his character is notable. He has respect for the natives he meets and treats them as human beings and urges his crew to do the same. He cares deeply about his crew and puts them first in his decision-making process. He also follows orders faithfully and takes care of the ship and all the other equipment entrusted to him. This gives him a reputation as a man to trust to explore the world. He is probably a little put off by the way the pacific islanders worship him, they think he's a god. However, he lets them do so.
He is hired for a second voyage. This time he is tasked with discovering whether Antarctica has a useful landmass. He finds there isn't one. What's notable about this trip is that he sails further south than any man has sailed before. His personal desire for glory is beginning to influence his decision process. On the first voyage, he had a job to do and did it masterfully, but on this voyage, he strains his crew and there are whisperings of a mutiny. He is no longer perturbed by the worship and adoration he gets from the natives at various stops. Now, he begins to see the pacific region of the world as his kingdom. Of all the islands, New Zealand is his favorite. He returns home and retires from sailing. It's time for a job that lets him stay with the family.
James is now pushing 50. He hears that there is a search planned for a northwestern passage. He leans on his political connections and gets himself installed as the captain. A big difference this time though, he doesn't spend time at the shipyard making sure the ship is ready. This is a glory tour for him. He desires to erase certain other explorers from the history books. There is a personal need for glory for himself. On this trip, he discovers Hawaii. He doesn't stay too long though, he sails on north probing around for a passage along the Alaska coast region. The American Revolution is raging, but he's oblivious to it, still looking for the passage. Finally, when cold weather comes, he returns to Hawaii for the winter. He intends to return to Alaska next spring. Unknown to him, he will never see Alaska, England, or his family again. You see, on this trip, he seemed to actually believe he was a god. he sorely abused his men, did unspeakably cruel things to various natives he met on this trip, and was in general, the polar opposite of who he was on the first voyage. He overstayed his welcome at different points, and in Hawaii in particular, the natives began to realize that he was very much a man and an ill-tempered one at that. So, when a native from Hawaii stole something from him, he kidnapped one of the chiefs. He marched him to the beach, intending to take him on a ship as a hostage. However, others came to rescue their chief, they had knives, James shot, then turned to bark an order to his crew, but with his back to the natives temporarily, that's when the stabbing started.
The "god of the Pacific" died in the sand that day just like any other man. He started out as a "nobody" from a Yorkshire farm, but he rose through the classes and became an esteemed member of the British upper class. When he took his expensive English toys to the Pacific, the natives thought he was a god and worshipped him. He read his press and what the natives thought of him and began to believe it. He got himself killed and hacked to pieces by people he thought of as his inferiors. The natives kept most of his body but returned a few parts to the ship so that they could give him an English funeral.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. James 1:9-11
There are 2 realities. 1 reality is what God says. The other reality is what you experience. Never let your experience define your idea of who you are. Only let what God says define who you are. Before God, we are all sons or daughters. We are all His if we believe. Also, God's reality is where eternity is found, so no death in that reality.
Let's look at this through the lens of James Cook, if he were a believer, understanding his identity from God, it would have been like this: Paragraph 1: James Cook, a son of God. 2: James Cook, a son of God. 3: James Cook, a son of God. 4: James Cook, a son of God. 5: James Cook, a son of God.
Now, let's see what his perceived identity looks like through the lens of his circumstances. Paragraph 1: A nobody from the lower classes, good sailor though. 2: The world's best captain. 3: The world's greatest explorer. 4: The god of the Pacific. 5: A nobody again, but now, a dead and mutilated nobody as well.
In this life, the rich die. The poor die. Both came with and leave with nothing, so, in that sense they are equal. Yet, during life, we tend to think they are different in value. In God's sight, they aren't. It's time to agree with God. He's right.
Source Material: Farther Than Any Man -Martin Dugard
-Loren
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