Paradise Lost and Found

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” [Romans 12:2]

We’ve all heard the true account of the Mutiny on the Bounty, but one aspect of the story that deserves retelling is the transformation wrought by one incredible book.

Shortly after the famous mutiny in 1789, nine mutineers with six Tahitian men and 12 women went ashore on Pitcairn Island – a tiny island in the southern Pacific Ocean. They burned the Bounty and established a colony. Things went along all right for a short time. In some respects, it seemed like they were living in a paradise. But some of the mutineers treated the Tahitians disrespectfully and war broke out between them, eventually resulting in the deaths of most of the men on both sides.

After that, peace reigned again briefly, until one of the sailors began distilling alcohol from a native plant. Most of the surviving settlers drank excessively. Soon the little colony was plunged into debauchery, vice, and murder.

Ten years later, only one man – John Adams – survived, surrounded by 10 native women and a bushel of half-breed children. One day this sailor discovered a Bible in an old chest from the Bounty. He began to read it and then teach it to the others. The result was that his own life and, ultimately, the lives of all those on the island were dramatically transformed. In fact, when Pitcairn Island was visited in 1808 by an American whaling ship, the previously crime-consumed colony had become a thriving community with no jail, no whiskey, no laziness, and no crime.

Today the descendants of this colony still live in a moralistic society on one of the most isolated islands in the world. Can Bible principles really transform a culture from vice and crime to tranquility today? I believe they can. The Word of God draws us away from conformity to the world with all of its trouble and vices. By reading and studying the Bible our minds are renewed; they are transformed to become more and more like the mind of Christ. We find that we have peace in our hearts, conformity to God’s will, and a saving relationship with Him. Now that is real paradise!