That all nations might believe and obey...

About 35 years ago I was sitting in the arena at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surrounded by about 17,000 people who were followers of Jesus. It was the largest gathering of any kind that I had ever attended and was a test of my wits (as I start to get more and more withdrawn as a group exceeds a size of about 8 people).

I wasn't exactly sure why I was at the Urbana 76 missions conference.  But I do know that it drastically altered the course of my life.

The theme of the conference was That All Nations Might Believe and Obey.

It was through this conference that I hooked up with an organization called Emmanuel International though which I went overseas for the first time and though which I met my beautiful wife of now 31+ years.

I can't say I remember much about the speakers either, except for two.

John Stott led us through an expositional study of the first few chapters of Romans talking about the word "justification".  I always remembered the catchy way he defined it: God's righteous way of righteousing the unrighteous.  That middle word confounds the dictionaries a bit, but it is also hard to forget.

The other speaker I remember is Elisabeth Elliot, who passed away yesterday.

Two things particularly stick with me.

First, to illustrate a point she was making, she quoted a poem by a missionary to India named Amy Carmichael.  And she recited the poem in a very beautiful and memorable way.

     From prayer that asks that I may be
     Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
     From fearing when I should aspire,
     From faltering when I should climb higher
     From silken self, O Captain, free
     Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

     From subtle love of softening things,
     From easy choices, weakenings,
     (Not thus are spirits fortified,
     Not this way went the Crucified)
     From all that dims Thy Calvary
     O Lamb of God, deliver me.

     Give me the love that leads the way,
     The faith that nothing can dismay
     The hope no disappointments tire,
     The passion that will burn like fire;
     Let me not sink to be a clod;
     Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

The second thing that stood out to me was her story.  It wasn't the story of her initial move to Ecuador which resulted in the martyrdom of her husband the the husbands of her teammates.  The lives of these men was a testimony to their profound commitment to Jesus and the exceedingly good news he brought to mankind.

No, to me the truly amazing thing is that she went back.

SHE WENT BACK!

HOW COULD SHE DO THAT?

She went back to those who killed he husband because she knew that they killed him in ignorance.

She went back to those who killed her husband because she knew that as awful a thing it was that they killed her second love, Jim; her first love, Jesus, still loved them.

She went back because Jesus helped her to forgive them.

Her testimony that night 35 years ago had a profound impact on me.  I listened to it over again many times on my cassette player.  I would read and re-read it in the syllabus we received.

My power to forgive has been tested--but never quite that much.

My power to forgive is currently being tested, and sometimes I find it a hard thing to do.

But I remember how much Jesus loved me--enough to forgive me over and over again for the stupid things I do that dishonor His name.

Thank you, Elisabeth Elliot, for sharing your testimony.  For helping me to know about how powerful a thing forgiveness can be.

Elisabeth Elliot 1926-2015
image:www.elisabethelliot.org

Memorial Day: Remembering the Warriors

In a few days Memorial Day will be celebrated in the USA.  It is a day to remember those who have fought and died for the country.

I was thinking it would be an appropriate time to remember those who truly fought for us:  for those who have labored for hours on their knees interceding for their friends, families, neighbors, their nation and even their enemies; and for those who have faithfully taught and obeyed the word of God.

I don’t remember Jesus anywhere telling us to take up weapons against others.  There was that time before they went to the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus told a quote about buying a sword and the disciples commenting that they had two (Luke 22:36-38).  But in the end Jesus told his disciples not to use the sword but to put it back in its place.

That same night the sword was used, also in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus labored in prayer and He exhorted His disciples to do the same.  The business of the disciples was prayer, not sword fighting.

How often could the words of Jesus to His disciples that night be applied to me:

^40… Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV))

The Apostle Paul wrote about another weapon that is used by the followers of Jesus—the Word of God.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17 (NIV))

We wield our sword when we study the Word of God, live by its teaching and teach others from it.  (In contrast to fighting with the sword, commands to be obeyed from the Old Testament are summarized in Matthew 22:37-39 as loving God and loving others.)

There are many people who have given up their lives because they fought for God’s kingdom and chose not to use the weapons of this world.  Instead the chose the weapons of prayer and the Word of God. To them, the battle for the Kingdom of God was worth the cost.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 11--a chapter sometimes known as the faith chapter because it begins with a definition of faith and then talks about some of the then famous heroes of the faith: people like Noah, Abraham, Moses and Rahab.

But it is the latter part of the chapter that intrigues the most--ever since I heard Elisabeth Elliot speak on this chapter at the Urbana 79 missions convention.  Verses 32-38 (NIV) read (emphasis mine):


³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

This memorial day, while we remember those who have fought for our country and given their lives for that cause, let us also remember those for whom this world was not worthy--those who have fought for God’s kingdom and have given their lives for an even better cause.  A good way for us to remember them would be to follow their example in prayer and studying, obeying and teaching others from the word of God.  Let us choose to be good soldiers, never yielding in our allegiance to the King of Kings and laboring hard with the weapons we have—the word of God and prayer.