Background Check:
The Christians in the United States in the mid-1900s were focused on giving the gospel to two groups of people: youth and other nations. In churches all over the U.S. there were many who were encouraged to participate in “missions”, that is, outreach to countries other than the U.S. There was also a number of rallies for youth to teach them to make a commitment to Christ. Thousands of youth believed in Jesus and went to Bible schools to learn more about Jesus. However, many of these youth grew to be people who were only halfway committed to Christ—believing in Jesus, but having little commitment or willingness to sacrifice themselves for the gospel.
Their Story:
Jim Elliot was a young man in Portland, Oregon. He had everything going for him—he was handsome and athletic. He was smart and good at schoolwork. He could have done anything he wanted to in life. But he chose to dedicate himself to giving the gospel of Jesus to those who had never heard it before. He was very strict on himself, disciplining his body and mind so that he would be better equipped to share the gospel. He knew that he would be in difficult terrain to walk, so he exercised regularly to make himself fit. He traveled across the country to study the Bible so he could better explain it. He would evangelize at local rallies they had for youth. And he gathered companions around him who were as dedicated as he to go to places where Jesus had never been named.
He also determined not to get married. Being married, he thought, would limit his ability to preach the gospel. His companions, though, convinced him that if he were married, that he would be better equipped to preach the gospel. It so happens there was already a girl he was interested in, back in Portland. Her name was Elizabeth and she was as dedicated to Jesus as he was. Elizabeth was thinking that she would teach the gospel to women in other countries as a single woman. But as she and Jim wrote letters over time they both realized that they loved each other and that God’s plan for them would be better served together. So as they finished their preparations, they were married.
The missions agency they were with sent them down to the jungles of South America, where almost no one had been before. There, they studied languages, especially Indian ones that might give them the opportunity to speak to Indian tribes that had never heard the gospel before. As their language study progressed, they decided to contact an Indian tribe that could only be reached by airplane. Jim and a few of his companions went to visit the area. They didn’t meet anyone there, but they knew they were being watched. They visited the area again, and then swarms of tribesmen, ready for war attacked them and killed everyone—Jim and all of his companions.
Elizabeth and the wives of the companions were heartbroken. God had taken them all of this way and they worked so hard, for what? The news of the martyred missionaries was sent back to the United States and was put in the newspapers. But the wives of the martyrs weren’t finished with missions yet.
Elizabeth wrote the story of the missionaries in a book and it became very famous. Then Elizabeth and another one of the wives decided to go back to South America and attempt to work with the tribe that had killed their husbands again. This time, with a more careful approach, they were successful. It took twenty years or more, but the tribe that had killed Jim Elliot became Christians. One of the men who had killed her husband went up to Elizabeth and wept, apologizing for his action. She forgave him and he began to follow Jesus.
The Final Word (of Men)
Jim Elliot’s martyrdom was famous in the United States. Many were shocked that such “savages” still existed. Some felt that such “backward” peoples should be destroyed. But many more were shocked at Jim Elliot’s faith and commitment to love others. A saying by Jim Elliot became famous among American Christians: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Thousands were inspired by the story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot and decided to take the gospel to those who had never heard it before like them.
A Word From Our Sponsor:
You will be hated by everyone for my name’s sake. But whoever endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13
Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28
Helpful Hint: Sacrificing Oneself for Love
Often the faithful would do what was dangerous to themselves or give away everything they had. It is not enough to just love, they would say, it is essential to love sacrificially. The Bible says that we need to love with all that we have, not just to take one part of ourselves to love. If that is the case, then all that we have and all that we are should be at the disposal of others, for their needs. Paul would teach the truth of Jesus, even though he knew that he would be beaten for it. Jim Elliot was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of those who had not heard the gospel. Michael Sattler was willing to be tortured and die for the sake of Jesus, even when he was being killed in the name of Jesus. To be faithful, it is not enough to love—you have to give up your whole self.
Check It Out:
Through Gates Of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot
The Journals of Jim Elliot
My Enemy, My Savage by Elizabeth Elliot
Also, check out the new film, “End of the Spear” which tells the story of Jim Elliot from the perspective of one of the tribe that killed Jim Elliot
The Christians in the United States in the mid-1900s were focused on giving the gospel to two groups of people: youth and other nations. In churches all over the U.S. there were many who were encouraged to participate in “missions”, that is, outreach to countries other than the U.S. There was also a number of rallies for youth to teach them to make a commitment to Christ. Thousands of youth believed in Jesus and went to Bible schools to learn more about Jesus. However, many of these youth grew to be people who were only halfway committed to Christ—believing in Jesus, but having little commitment or willingness to sacrifice themselves for the gospel.
Their Story:
He also determined not to get married. Being married, he thought, would limit his ability to preach the gospel. His companions, though, convinced him that if he were married, that he would be better equipped to preach the gospel. It so happens there was already a girl he was interested in, back in Portland. Her name was Elizabeth and she was as dedicated to Jesus as he was. Elizabeth was thinking that she would teach the gospel to women in other countries as a single woman. But as she and Jim wrote letters over time they both realized that they loved each other and that God’s plan for them would be better served together. So as they finished their preparations, they were married.
The missions agency they were with sent them down to the jungles of South America, where almost no one had been before. There, they studied languages, especially Indian ones that might give them the opportunity to speak to Indian tribes that had never heard the gospel before. As their language study progressed, they decided to contact an Indian tribe that could only be reached by airplane. Jim and a few of his companions went to visit the area. They didn’t meet anyone there, but they knew they were being watched. They visited the area again, and then swarms of tribesmen, ready for war attacked them and killed everyone—Jim and all of his companions.
Elizabeth and the wives of the companions were heartbroken. God had taken them all of this way and they worked so hard, for what? The news of the martyred missionaries was sent back to the United States and was put in the newspapers. But the wives of the martyrs weren’t finished with missions yet.
Elizabeth wrote the story of the missionaries in a book and it became very famous. Then Elizabeth and another one of the wives decided to go back to South America and attempt to work with the tribe that had killed their husbands again. This time, with a more careful approach, they were successful. It took twenty years or more, but the tribe that had killed Jim Elliot became Christians. One of the men who had killed her husband went up to Elizabeth and wept, apologizing for his action. She forgave him and he began to follow Jesus.
The Final Word (of Men)
Jim Elliot’s martyrdom was famous in the United States. Many were shocked that such “savages” still existed. Some felt that such “backward” peoples should be destroyed. But many more were shocked at Jim Elliot’s faith and commitment to love others. A saying by Jim Elliot became famous among American Christians: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Thousands were inspired by the story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot and decided to take the gospel to those who had never heard it before like them.
A Word From Our Sponsor:
You will be hated by everyone for my name’s sake. But whoever endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13
Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28
Helpful Hint: Sacrificing Oneself for Love
Check It Out:
Through Gates Of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot
The Journals of Jim Elliot
My Enemy, My Savage by Elizabeth Elliot
Also, check out the new film, “End of the Spear” which tells the story of Jim Elliot from the perspective of one of the tribe that killed Jim Elliot
1 comment:
The killers of Jim Elliot, Michael Sattler, and all Christian and Catholic martyrs are making Pontius Pilate, Julius Caesar, King Herod, and Judas Iscariot proud.
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