Matthew 16:26
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In the late 1940's two American teenage boys were growing up. They had the look of greatness about them, and every one who met them thought, "we'd better keep our eyes on these two kids - they'll go far". In College, they rose to become student leaders, respected and admired by peers and faculty alike.
Instead of living successful lives, they gave up their dreams and decided to commit a life of hardship as a missionary to Ecuador for God. One of them wrote out the driving force behind his seemingly foolish decision: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose ".
On the morning of 8 January 1956, those two young men, and three companions, climbed into an amphibious Piper airplane in Ecuador, South America. They flew half an hour out over the Amazon jungle, to an Indian village they had spotted just a few days earlier. They had made contact with this village before, and had successfully dropped gifts for the people in a specially designed bucket. They felt that now was the time to attempt to meet the villagers face to face, and were planning to land on the river.
The village was one of the villages of a tribe of Indians known as the Aucas. This was a name given to them by the surrounding Indian tribes – it means "savage". They were untouched by civilisation, and throughout the centuries had gained a reputation for being brutal, and killing all outsiders. These five young missionaries were hopeful that they would be able to make a breakthrough this morning.
As they approached the Indian village, they saw a large group of men coming to meet them. The waited as this group approached them. Then the leader of that group, a man named Guiquita Waewae gave a shouted command, and the villagers raised their spears, and savagely murdered the missionaries with their three-metre chonta wood spears.
When the men did not return to their base, a plane was sent to find them, and their bodies and wrecked plane were seen lying on the sandbar, in pools of blood. They died, murdered by the very people they came to love. They died in pain, without graves or any achievements to boast.
I don't know about you, but when I hear a story like that, I am humbled at my own puny attempt at living a Christian life. I wonder if I'm accountable to God for all that I have lived and done. If I die today or anytime in the next few days is there fulfillment of my life because I have been walking in the will and instructions of what God wanted me to? Am I able to truely say that I am living in the will of God and can embrace life and death like Paul and boast "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". (Philippians 1:21)
Unlike the missionaries of the story above, not many of us have this persepective that grips us to give up our dreams and live according to the intense heartbeat of Christ. Instead you and I willingly sacrifice anything in order to pursue after our future success and desires of life.
However, one thing we need to be sure, there will come a day where our life would end and we would stand before God and be made accountable for the life we have lived. Would we be able to say, "I have lived a life worthy of the calling of Christ and passed away with all Glory going to God" or would we only realise that we have lived a worldly life and forfeited our soul? By then, it will be too late to repent.
May we always be mindful to guard our souls from the eternal flames of hell, because there is no available means except we live a Christ-like life everyday of our life.
Blessings,
M.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" - Jim Elliot
Final Note:
A few years later, two of the wives of those missionaries had the privilege of being among the first outsiders to make contact with the Auca Indians. And the wife of the leading missionary that was murdered was able to lead Guiquita, the man who had killed her husband, to the Lord.
21 July 2006
Is your life worth it?
Matthew 16:26
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In the late 1940's two American teenage boys were growing up. They had the look of greatness about them, and every one who met them thought, "we'd better keep our eyes on these two kids - they'll go far". In College, they rose to become student leaders, respected and admired by peers and faculty alike.
Instead of living successful lives, they gave up their dreams and decided to commit a life of hardship as a missionary to Ecuador for God. One of them wrote out the driving force behind his seemingly foolish decision: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose ".
On the morning of 8 January 1956, those two young men, and three companions, climbed into an amphibious Piper airplane in Ecuador, South America. They flew half an hour out over the Amazon jungle, to an Indian village they had spotted just a few days earlier. They had made contact with this village before, and had successfully dropped gifts for the people in a specially designed bucket. They felt that now was the time to attempt to meet the villagers face to face, and were planning to land on the river.
The village was one of the villages of a tribe of Indians known as the Aucas. This was a name given to them by the surrounding Indian tribes – it means "savage". They were untouched by civilisation, and throughout the centuries had gained a reputation for being brutal, and killing all outsiders. These five young missionaries were hopeful that they would be able to make a breakthrough this morning.
As they approached the Indian village, they saw a large group of men coming to meet them. The waited as this group approached them. Then the leader of that group, a man named Guiquita Waewae gave a shouted command, and the villagers raised their spears, and savagely murdered the missionaries with their three-metre chonta wood spears.
When the men did not return to their base, a plane was sent to find them, and their bodies and wrecked plane were seen lying on the sandbar, in pools of blood. They died, murdered by the very people they came to love. They died in pain, without graves or any achievements to boast.
I don't know about you, but when I hear a story like that, I am humbled at my own puny attempt at living a Christian life. I wonder if I'm accountable to God for all that I have lived and done. If I die today or anytime in the next few days is there fulfillment of my life because I have been walking in the will and instructions of what God wanted me to? Am I able to truely say that I am living in the will of God and can embrace life and death like Paul and boast "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". (Philippians 1:21)
Unlike the missionaries of the story above, not many of us have this persepective that grips us to give up our dreams and live according to the intense heartbeat of Christ. Instead you and I willingly sacrifice anything in order to pursue after our future success and desires of life.
However, one thing we need to be sure, there will come a day where our life would end and we would stand before God and be made accountable for the life we have lived. Would we be able to say, "I have lived a life worthy of the calling of Christ and passed away with all Glory going to God" or would we only realise that we have lived a worldly life and forfeited our soul? By then, it will be too late to repent.
May we always be mindful to guard our souls from the eternal flames of hell, because there is no available means except we live a Christ-like life everyday of our life.
Blessings,
M.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" - Jim Elliot
Final Note:
A few years later, two of the wives of those missionaries had the privilege of being among the first outsiders to make contact with the Auca Indians. And the wife of the leading missionary that was murdered was able to lead Guiquita, the man who had killed her husband, to the Lord.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In the late 1940's two American teenage boys were growing up. They had the look of greatness about them, and every one who met them thought, "we'd better keep our eyes on these two kids - they'll go far". In College, they rose to become student leaders, respected and admired by peers and faculty alike.
Instead of living successful lives, they gave up their dreams and decided to commit a life of hardship as a missionary to Ecuador for God. One of them wrote out the driving force behind his seemingly foolish decision: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose ".
On the morning of 8 January 1956, those two young men, and three companions, climbed into an amphibious Piper airplane in Ecuador, South America. They flew half an hour out over the Amazon jungle, to an Indian village they had spotted just a few days earlier. They had made contact with this village before, and had successfully dropped gifts for the people in a specially designed bucket. They felt that now was the time to attempt to meet the villagers face to face, and were planning to land on the river.
The village was one of the villages of a tribe of Indians known as the Aucas. This was a name given to them by the surrounding Indian tribes – it means "savage". They were untouched by civilisation, and throughout the centuries had gained a reputation for being brutal, and killing all outsiders. These five young missionaries were hopeful that they would be able to make a breakthrough this morning.
As they approached the Indian village, they saw a large group of men coming to meet them. The waited as this group approached them. Then the leader of that group, a man named Guiquita Waewae gave a shouted command, and the villagers raised their spears, and savagely murdered the missionaries with their three-metre chonta wood spears.
When the men did not return to their base, a plane was sent to find them, and their bodies and wrecked plane were seen lying on the sandbar, in pools of blood. They died, murdered by the very people they came to love. They died in pain, without graves or any achievements to boast.
I don't know about you, but when I hear a story like that, I am humbled at my own puny attempt at living a Christian life. I wonder if I'm accountable to God for all that I have lived and done. If I die today or anytime in the next few days is there fulfillment of my life because I have been walking in the will and instructions of what God wanted me to? Am I able to truely say that I am living in the will of God and can embrace life and death like Paul and boast "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". (Philippians 1:21)
Unlike the missionaries of the story above, not many of us have this persepective that grips us to give up our dreams and live according to the intense heartbeat of Christ. Instead you and I willingly sacrifice anything in order to pursue after our future success and desires of life.
However, one thing we need to be sure, there will come a day where our life would end and we would stand before God and be made accountable for the life we have lived. Would we be able to say, "I have lived a life worthy of the calling of Christ and passed away with all Glory going to God" or would we only realise that we have lived a worldly life and forfeited our soul? By then, it will be too late to repent.
May we always be mindful to guard our souls from the eternal flames of hell, because there is no available means except we live a Christ-like life everyday of our life.
Blessings,
M.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" - Jim Elliot
Final Note:
A few years later, two of the wives of those missionaries had the privilege of being among the first outsiders to make contact with the Auca Indians. And the wife of the leading missionary that was murdered was able to lead Guiquita, the man who had killed her husband, to the Lord.
