He Is No Fool
Living and Dying for Christ
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. ~Jim Elliot
These are the words of Jim Elliot: a man zealous for God; missionary to the Quichua and Waorani peoples; sinner saved by grace.
Jim and Elisabeth Elliot met each other at Wheaton College. They loved Jesus very much and were zealous for God’s glory. They both desired to take the gospel to people who had never heard of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Their journey led them to Ecuador, to marriage, and then to gates of splendor. Along with four other courageous young men, in a beginning attempt to bring God’s word and love to the Waorani people, Jim Elliot was speared to death on January 8, 1956.
It is an amazing story! If you have not read it, I highly recommend Through Gates of Splendor. As I was combing through our library, I also came upon Shadow of the Almighty: The Life & Testament of Jim Elliot. So, I eagerly pulled the book off the narrow shelf and began reading. Shadow of the Almighty is largely compiled from Jim’s personal journals and letters, with only a little narration by his wife, Elisabeth. It is compelling to read a book from these sources because one knows that they were not meant for publication. As a result, there is a transparency that touches the deep recesses of the heart.
As I read, I had the impression of enjoying a fossil from another time that was not likely to be replicated. The hand-written letter and diary are disappearing arts. And it is a shame. If we could recover these, perhaps we could do away with social media once and for all. We could pray to God through writing, record our thoughts and emotions privately as a way to process them, and fellowship with others through long-form correspondence once again. Such are the treasures nestled within Shadow of the Almighty.
As I read through the preface, Elisabeth’s words astounded and encouraged me.
Jim’s aim was to know God. His course, obedience – the only course that could lead to the fulfillment of his aim. His end was what some would call an extraordinary death, although in facing death he had quietly pointed out that many have died because of obedience to God.
He and the other men with whom he died were hailed as heroes, “martyrs.” I do not approve. Nor would they have approved.
Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for Him, after all, so great? Is not the second the logical conclusion of the first? Furthermore, to live for God is to die, “daily,” as the apostle Paul put it. It is to lose everything that we may gain Christ. It is in thus laying down our lives that we find them.1
The connection between knowing (loving) and obeying God can be found in 1 John 5:1-5, which says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Tertullian, an early church father from the 2nd century, once said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Perhaps we could also say that the sweat of the followers is the xylem of the church. Elisabeth says as much in her preface. Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for Him, after all, so great? The first implication here is that dying for Christ is the last step of living for him. When Jim was killed by the Waorani, it was the coda fortissima of his life symphony played for the glory of Christ. And Jim is not the hero of this story: God is.
It was God who gave Jim new birth in the Spirit, who led him every step of the way to Ecuador, who brought him and Elisabeth together, who placed the burden of the Waorani on his heart, who allowed Jim to be slain, who opened the door for Elisabeth and Rachel Saint to start gospel work among the Waorani after the murders. And so we think of that great refrain that echoes down from Genesis – which comforts all believers who suffer - “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). I look forward to enjoying the new earth with Waorani brothers and sisters because of the blood of Jesus. And through the sweat and blood of the martyrs who were used by God for redemptive purposes.
The second implication from Elisabeth’s preface is that a life lived for Christ is a life of death. In what ways? First, it is a life of mortifying sin. In Christ, we have been saved from the power and penalty of sin, but not yet from its daily presence. In Romans 7, Paul describes his struggle with the sinful nature: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19). And so, on a daily basis, we come to our Savior in humility, repentance, and joy, as we trust that his blood and righteousness cover us minute-by-minute. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25a).
Second, it is a life of dying to oneself. In Mark 8:34, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This means that we disown ourselves and give our full allegiance to Christ – in every crevice of our lives. The implications of this are incredibly vast. It takes a lifetime to understand and live this out (and we won’t do it perfectly). It means that Jesus is our King and treasure. It does not matter if we live lives of material poverty, if we have few friends, if we cry tears day after day. (Remember! He holds your tears in his bottle – Psalm 56:8.) He has authority to use our lives for his purposes in any way that he chooses. And because we are God’s beloved children, we can trust him completely no matter what happens. Remember Philippians 3:7-11,
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
On one hand, a life lived for Christ is a life of death. On the other hand, because of Christ’s sacrifice, death, in all its forms, does not have the last word. After a short life of mortifying sin and of daily denying ourselves, we will enter eternity and, whenever Christ returns, be physically resurrected from the dead. We will say, “All of the mortifying...it was worth it! Because this eternal life with Christ: this is the life for which I was made from the very beginning. Hallelujah, praise Jehovah!”
Is Jesus worth it? He is worth it all. And He is worthy. All glory to the Lamb!
Jim Elliot is with his Savior. If we love and obey Christ, we will join him one day. Maranatha!
It seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mindFor even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly saneSo come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beamSo surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can seeWhen we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrongSo we follow God's own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
Come be a fool as well2
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~Matthew 16:25
***If you would like to read a nuanced, excellent piece of scholarship on missionary work among the Waorani in the decades following the deaths of the 5 young men, I recommend Kathryn T. Long’s book God in the Rainforest: A Tale of Martyrdom & Redemption in Amazonian Ecuador.
Elliot, Elisabeth. Shadow of the Almighty: The Life & Testament of Jim Elliot. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1958, 11-12.
Song by Michael Card: God’s Own Fool.