"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." --Jim Elliot
This is one of the most amazing quotes. It isn't because it was perfectly worded. Nor is it because of any charm, or style of the wording. The reason that the quote is so inspiring to many is because the writer believed it. He based his life on it. And he lost his life because of it.
On January 8th, 1956, five faithful missionaries gave their lives up for God's glory. Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of their sacrifices. Five ordinary men did extraordinary things for Jesus. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian. They gave their lives up for Him. They loved the savage, Ecuadorian Indians enough to relinquish holds of their futures.
The five men with their wives had decided that there was no better mission field than the hardest one for missionaries to reach--the Auca Indians of Ecuador. They were known to kill foreigners. They even killed each other. They were bloodthirsty, lost souls. Five families left their comfortable, American homes to follow God's leading. In the end, all of the husbands were speared to death, and five widows were left to care for their numerous children. The men had weapons; they could have defended themselves. But they knew that their souls would go to heaven. Those who killed them were not saved. They didn't know the Truth. Thus, they laid down their weapons and loved their enemies.
The story didn't stop there. God used Rachel Saint (the sister of Nate Saint), a native Auca Indian named Dayuma, and many others to open a door into the savages' hearts. They learned about Jesus. They realized the love that the missionaries had shown them. And one Indian admitted, "Not understanding, we killed your men." God used five lives to change whole tribes of people with the Gospel. Dozens and dozens of lives were touched by their sacrifices. Maybe hundreds or thousands. Even today, the same men who killed the American missionaries believe in God and spread the Good News.
Are you willing to give everything up for Jesus? Are you willing to love your enemies and to give your lives up for them? Can you trust God that much, to put your future in His hands? He might ask for a lot, but wonderful things will happen because of it. Things that you could never have expected or imagined. God is cool like that.
