Jim Elliot

"Remember you are immortal until your work is done." ~ Jim Elliot

One of the things the pastor spoke about today was Jim Elliot. A missionary who died in the fifties. He had traveled to Ecuador with some others to preach to the Indians there. Jim's wife was very worried, completely uncertain about all this, worried about her husband's safety. The men took guns with them, and upon asking whether they would use them in their defense if attacked by the Indians Jim's response was "no." They intended only to use the weapons against hungry animals. He said no because they were a group of missionaries that already gave their life to Christ - they knew where their souls were going. The souls of the Indians, however, would not go to heaven for they knew no Christ.
Sure enough they were attacked and Jim was killed. In one of his letters to Elisabeth he had written "remember you are immortal until your work is done." He was ready to accept whatever happens because he knew that God was in control. Even if he were to face death, God was STILL in control - we have to remember that it is for God's purpose, not ours.
Even though Jim had died, more missionaries came preaching. They came across the same Indian who killed Jim, but this time he accepted Christ as his savior. This new man in Christ ended up going to Elisabeth and asking her for forgiveness.

There are so many stories like this that I love. To serve in Christ's name is not just to be a missionary...sometimes it's also to be the worried wife who lets her husband go, not knowing whether or not she will ever see him again. And Jim's words hit the heart - "your are immortal until your work is done." We are never in control of our lives. We make certain decisions, and yes, those decisions have great bearing on the direction our lives take. But they are still within the permission of the Lord. We cannot do anything that He does not allow, and we certainly cannot live even a second past what He has written.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." ~ Jim Elliot