AT ALL COSTS
“How, then, can they
call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one
of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching
to them?” (Romans 10:14-15, NIV)
Recently we saw the movie
“The End of the Spear” narrated by Steve Saint, son of missionary Nate Saint.
The movie depicts the spearing death of five young missionary men on a remote jungle beach in Ecuador. They were the first white men to make personal contact with the Waorani tribe. Two of the missionaries who died were Nate Saint and Jim Elliot, husband of well know
author and speaker Elisabeth Elliot.
Amazingly, after their deaths, Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint, with
their children, began living with the Waorani people. Eventually, many people
in the tribe became Christians, including some of the men who had speared the missionaries to death. Nate Saint and his family later moved back to the jungles of Ecuador to live among the tribe.
Personally, I felt very blessed to see this movie and gain a better
understanding of what the last Beatitude means when it talks about being faithful to Christ at all costs (Matt. 5:10). This trait is missing in the western church in our day. Our culture preaches that “blessed are the self-achievers”; whereas the Bible tells us that
daily we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ (Matt. 16:24). The world and the Bible always conflict.
Throughout the movie, I was continually reminded of Jim Elliot’s
famous phrase, “He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Many of us may never be called to be missionaries in the remote jungles of Ecuador, but we can be faithful to God in the the desert
of chronic illness and pain. Our sickness gives us a unique opportunity to let
others see Christ’s great peace, joy and love flow through us even as we suffer.
Shine for Jesus today! We never know what an impact our lives will have
on those around us.
Dear Jesus: Through our illnesses, mold us into men and women of iron who desire to serve You with a pure heart.
