You can have it

Jim Elliot was born in 1927, and from a young age, he was serious about faith. While studying at Wheaton College, he felt drawn to share the gospel with people who had never heard it.

After graduation, Elliot traveled to Ecuador with several other young missionaries. They were burdened for the Waodani (then commonly called the Auca), a remote tribe in the Ecuadorian jungle known for violent resistance to outsiders.

In 1956, after months of planning, aerial gift drops, and cautious attempts to build trust, Elliot and four other missionaries landed their small plane on a sandbar along the Curaray River. Initial contact seemed peaceful. But within days, a misunderstanding escalated. On January 8, 1956, all five missionaries were speared to death.

The story was tragic, but Elliot didn’t see it that way. In his journal years earlier, he had written:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

What makes the story even more remarkable is what happened next. In the years following the killings, Elisabeth Elliot (Jim’s widow), returned to live among the Waodani.

Slowly, relationships formed. Eventually, members of the tribe embraced Christianity. Some of the very men involved in the killings later became leaders in the church that formed there.

Takeaway: Not every act of obedience makes sense. Do it anyway.

Source: Elizabeth shares the story in her book, ​Through Gates of Splendor