Tonight some friends and I watched the movie "End of the Spear" the story of five families whose fathers/husbands were killed while trying to befriend and share love with an Ecuadorian tribe. It was a beautiful depiction of what is truly valuable in life and it challenged my own life in so many ways (most of all I am sure that I am not yet aware of). In it there were many strong people and as I think about it, they were strong because they knew where their strength came from. This movie brought up many questions. "Could I," I wonder, "be like Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, and the other men who forsook their families and missed seeing their children grow up in order to have an opportunity to share Christ's love with this indigenous tribe? Would I have been as strong as Nate Saint's wife and freely let him go knowing that I may never see him again? After the men had been killed by spears, would I have been able to go and live with the tribe as Rachel Saint (Nate's sister) and Elizabeth Elliot (wife of Jim Elliot who was killed) did? Would I have been like Kimo who so eagerly accepted the love and sacrifice of Christ or like Mincaye who allowed guilt and shame hold me back from accepting God's gift of forgiveness and abundant life?" I do not have the answer to all of these questions but I do know this: that I always want to accept what God has for me with child-like glee, never being either a step ahead of God or a step behind Him, but always in step with where He wants me to be; dependent on Him as my source and my strength.I am delighted that I am here in Eden because (as with the Saint and Elliot families) I, for many, may be their first contact with God's love. The real question is: is it worth it? YES!!! Would I do it again? In a heart beat!! “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure" (Ps 39:4-5). And Jim Elliot, one of the five who was killed, stated: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." I know neither the length of my days nor how fleeting my life is, thus I came. Although I could continue to ask: "could I have been like any of those in the movie?" I do not know that God is asking me to be the next Jim Elliot, but instead--He is asking me to be the Christ-dependent Diane, and that I can be whether it resembles Jim Elliot's, Nate Saint's, Nate's wife's, Nate's sister's, or anyone's life. I know, and am confident that as I am dependent on Him--He will give me the strength to do all that He has called me to do and to be. Lord, let it be so!
1 comment:
That's a profound statement, the part about being no fool to give up what we cannot keep to gain that which we cannot lose. We all have our own stories to play, so, yes, it's important to be entirely Christ dependent. Don't try to measure up to or play someone else's story, though, your story is and will be exquisite in its own way. Love you!
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