Jim Elliot - 7th Nov

After completing his studies at theological college, Jim Elliot went to Ecuador, where he linked up with four others in an effort to reach a group of tribal Amazon people with the Gospel. In January 1956, they set off in a small plane for the Amazon jungle. The village they headed for belonged of a tribe of Indians known as the Aucas, which means "savage". As they approached the Indian village, they saw a large group of men coming to meet them. The leader of that group, a man named Guiquita Waewae shouted a command, and the villagers raised their spears and savagely murdered the missionaries.
In Jim's journal, a few weeks before his death, he wrote ”He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.
Although his death seemed such a waste, especially coming so soon after completing his training, his courage and commitment has been an inspiration for many Christians not least David and Mary Pytches, who not long after his death set off for the mission fields in Chile.
His death also paved the way for further attempts to reach the Auca Indians. The wife of one of five missionaries that was murdered was able to lead Guiquita, the man who had killed her husband, to the Lord.
I am daunted by the courage shown by martyrs such as Jim Elliot. I hope I am not called to such sacrifice, but I do hope I can move towards a view of life that is more inspired by things that are eternal.