67 Years Ago, On This Day

On January 8th, 1956, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed Mccully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian were murdered by the Waorani tribe of Ecuador, a tribe these missionaries were trying to reach with the Gospel.

Betty, Jim Elliot's wife, knew the dangers of reaching the Waorani. They had a reputation for being killers, generally spearing strangers before they knew anything about them. In fact, the tribe members were usually called 'Aucas', which means savages. Fighting was so common, even among the tribe members themselves, that the men usually died before the age of forty. Their mission to meet the Waorani tribe was called "Operation Auca".

The plan was to land their plane on Waorani land and meet the tribe face-to-face. They had already flown over several times and lowered gifts in a bucket down to the tribe, all of which were accepted. They even sent gifts back up to the missionaries; A friendship was being built between the men and the Waorani. Now it was time for them to meet, and if all went well, begin sharing the Gospel with them. Betty and Jim were the first to begin forming a written language for the Waorani, and then begin the job of translating the Bible into that language. Once they were taught to read their new language, the would have access to some portions of Scripture in their language.

The following was taken from the biography "Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender" by Janet and Geoff Benge:

One day Betty decided to ask her husband the question that had been haunting her for weeks now. "Jim, I understand that someone has to bring the Gospel to the Aucas, but I need to ask you this: are you sure that you are supposed to go?"

"I am called," Jim replied simply.

Betty nodded. That was all she needed to know. The mission was a dangerous one. There was no denying that one or all of the men could lose their lives in the process. But if Jim knew beyond a doubt that he was called to go, Betty was sure she could live with whatever the outcome might be.

Things seemed to be going well with the Waorani, but they were still an unpredictable and unruly group of warriors. Jim seemed to take no heed to this fact; He did not worry about himself. He knew that God picked him for this job. If he lived, he would get to share the Gospel with the tribe. It would be like a dream come true. If he died, then he would get to meet his Savior. He would live in Heaven. He counted both outcomes as gain and confidently set out on Operation Auca.

As the plane lifted off of the ground and began the flight to the Waorani, Betty prayed "Have your way, Lord, have your way." The men soon radioed back to their wives that they had landed safely and had built a few treehouses to stay in until they, if everything went well, moved into the Waorani village.

On January 11th, the news that Jim, Nate, Pete, Ed, and Roger had been speared to death reached the women. A search party had been looking for them for several days, and soon they found the plane. It's protective skin had been torn into pieces. As time went on, all five men had been found dead, floating in the river.

Rachel, Nate's sister, was in for a shock, as she had just found out what Nate was doing. Was Betty surprised? I think not. She knew that this was likely to happen, but she was still very upset. After less than two years of marriage, she was left as a widow with her infant daughter, Valerie, to care for. The other men had also left widows and most of them had several young children. Life had dramatically shifted for the women, but Betty's faith did not waver.

Betty pushed on with the Gospel translation for the Waorani. Though many women would have fled back home after such an incident, Betty stayed strong and kept up with her work. Many people asked her if her husband's murder made her love the Aucas any less, but she replied in a heartfelt way. "The fact that Jesus Christ died for all makes me interested in the salvation for all, but the fact that Jim loved and died for the Aucas intensifies my love for them."

Would you have been able to truthfully say that if you were in Betty's place? If someone speared your spouse to death today, would you love them even more?

What about Jim's love and obedience and self-sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel?

Do you have enough faith that you would willingly walk into a situation knowing it was very likely that you'd die?

Are you so dedicated to God and so willing to obey His plan that you would willingly give your life for Him?

Are you so dedicated to sharing and spreading the Gospel that you would sacrifice your life right now to get it to a group of people who have no access to it?

Or do you attend church once or twice a week with an empty faith?

Does your relationship with God grow stronger and healthier daily?

Is God in your life enough that others can see His light shining through you?

Are you actively pursuing God's will for your life as much as you can right now?

Do you doubt who God made you to be and what your purpose is when He has already showed you?

Are you walking the walk of faith when it's just you and God, or do you just pretend to around others? In other words, if God looks at your private life, at your heart and mind, what will He find?

Is He going to see that you strive on a daily basis to grow closer to Him and humbly obey whatever His plan is for you?

Or is He going to find a faker who doesn't pursue God on the regular and only puts on their 'Sunday best' when around believers or at church?

Will He find that you don't know your purpose and want to know it, yet you never dig into the Scripture or talk to God to find it?

Will He find that you claim to know Him, yet dust lays on your Bible and you belong to no church?

Will He find that you are lost in anger and have no desire to obey Him?

Will He find that you have never even thought about entrusting your life to Him at all?

What would God find in you?

If you just skipped over all of those questions due to the fact that you do not want to think about the answer, then get back up there and do it anyway. You'll never be convicted of you never respond to the message.

Think about the answers for yourself. Get alone with God and talk about it. Do you need to grow your faith in God? Do you need to establish a faith in God for the first time? I don't know, but you do, and you're the only one who can do anything about it.

If you have given yourself a thorough evaluation and you find that you are ready to get into what God has in store for you, then start praying about it. Get involved sharing the Gospel in some way, and if that's not what God wants you to be doing, He'll show you what path to get on. It's all about trusting Him.

If you need someone to talk to, find someone who very visibly has a strong faith. It might be a friend, family member, pastor, or really anyone. They will be there for you and help show you how to trust God. I'm here for you as well, though there are many people with lots more wisdom than me. You can just reply to your email to contact me. I love y'all, and hope that this helps you renew and strengthen your faith.

For more information about Nate Saint, Rachel Saint, Jim Elliot, or Elisabeth Elliot, I recommend the Christian Heroes: Then and Now series or books written by Elisabeth Elliot herself, as she personally knew these people. Have a blessed day.