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Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:39
Reflect
Jim was the son of a Christian minister, and he had spent his life preparing for ministry himself. As he matured, he became quite a bold speaker and became known for writing and delivering speeches defending his views and his faith. His boldness was such that it shouldn’t have been any surprise to his friends and family when he, instead of pursuing youth ministry as most of them thought he should, decided to become a missionary to indigenous people in Ecuador.
As the day approached to leave, Jim devoted himself to the languages and cultures of the people he would meet, and he became to assemble a team of men who would go with him on the journey. One of Jim’s best friends, Ed, decided to be part of the mission, and they became friends with a recent college graduate named Pete. These three joined forces with two missionaries already working in Ecuador – an Army veteran named Roger and a pilot named Nate.
Together, the five began to reach out the Huaorani people and made some significant strides. Nate came up with a way to circle his plane in an elliptical pattern that allowed a basket with gifts inside to be lowered on a rope to the ground so that the natives could retrieve the items. Eventually, they all flew in Nate’s plane to a place close to the tribe and set up camp. They even befriended one of the natives and gave him a ride in the airplane. Everything seemed to be going well until a group of the natives, stirred up by their suspicion of outsiders, attacked the missionaries and killed all five.
You may recognize the story as that of Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian and Nate Saint, who died at the hands of the Huaoroni in 1956. It is one of the most famous stories of modern Christian martyrs, and it’s inspired books, songs and even a motion picture. But even without the fame of their bold exploits, these five men earned fame in Heaven for being willing to sacrifice everything to share the Gospel with people who needed to hear it.
In 1949, several before his death, Jim Elliot wrote a now-famous quote that now seems to be a hint at his fate: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” It’s not scripture, but it reads a lot like Matthew 10:39: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Each of us will have to sacrifice something if we’re going to embrace eternal values. You don’t have to be a missionary to a distant tribe in South America to understand this principal. Take stock of your life. What are you spending your time on? What is your purpose? Are you chasing temporary things or eternal things?
In order to pursue the things of God, we need to care about the things that are closest to His heart – scripture, prayer, worship. And we each need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit’s power each day to help us live justly and to avoid the traps of sin and temptation.
We won’t all be like Jim, Ed, Pete, Roger or Nate. Our calling may not be in the far reaches of Ecuador, Nepal or the Congo. In fact, some of these countries are now sending missionaries to the United States to spread the Gospel here. That’s probably the best mission field going today, but even sojourning in the Americas will have its costs. You may not lose your life, but you might suffer insults and maybe even friendships if you’re willing to stand up for the Gospel. But remember – the thing that is most valuable is something that can never truly be taken away from you, and it’s something you can’t keep even if you try.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
