Sacrifice?
A while back one of my employees worked on some key art for the film "End of the Spear".I had heard of the story before because Elizabeth Elliot (a woman who is the was a part of the story that the film was based on) used to come to Central and talk to the youth group. Elizabeth's husband, along with 3 other men, were killed by a couple of very, very remote natives during the first attempt to establish contact with the tribe as missionaries. The wives then travel to the tribe and succeed in not only establishing contact and spreading God's Message, but becoming so incredibly close with the people whol killed their husbands. It's a remarkable story and one that has stuck with me over the years.
One line that caught me in the movie, and one that remember reading in one of Elliot's books was when the son of Steve Saint (a fellow missionary), concerned for his father's safety, asked his father if they were taking guns. He said they were. But they wouldn't use them on the tribal people. After his sone tearfully asked him why, Steve said "Because we're ready to go to heaven, but they are not."
Flash forward to today, and that line has been in my head a while. I struggle with being a Christian in America. I struggle to find a way to truly implement what Christ did. And I struggle with joining in with those who simply speak, and gripe, and fuss, but don't - ever - act as Christ did. What does this line mean today? It's obviously THE Christ-like attitude of self-sacrifice, But as we engage in War as a country, would we give up our lives so that our ENEMY could be free? Not free from the State, but free unto Christ? Would we sacrifice justice, and transcend our sense of who's right and wrong, on the off-chance that one person in Iran, or Afghanistan, or Iraq would come to Christ by our willingness to lay ourselves down? What would that look like? It's backwards. Christ is always backwards, upsidedown, not what you think.
A pit forms in my stomach when I picture myself in those missionaries shoes. They undoubtedly made the right decision. They decidedly "considered others better than themselves", and sacrificed their lives so that others may live in eternity. Sound familiar? So why does that kind of obediance and sacrifice scare me? Why does that pit rise? Would I make that sacrifice? Probably not. I'm a coward. I should though. And I envy those that achieve that completeness in the sacrificial message of Christ.
Do I, as an American, ever TRULY sacrifice? Never. Do you? Think about it.
posted by Jarrett Green at 11:34 PM
3 Comments:
in my heart, i am a pacifist. i believe that in all cases i would rather be shot than shoot. i've read about Mr. Saint---never heard that quote, though. wow.
good stuff here. excellent questions and observation. sometimes i grow really discouraged when i consider this stuff.
earlier this morning i stumbled upon the Confraternity of Penitents website (www.penitents.com) (I'm researching A. Soord's Lost Sheep painting which is AWESOME by the way) where I found some encouragement in the following:
"ANTIDOTE FOR DISCOURAGEMENT
We get discouraged if we fall back into sin. Maybe if we could admit the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales, we'd be more patient with ourselves (and with others who also fall). "If we knew well what we were, instead of being surprised at seeing ourselves fallen, we would be surprised how we could even stand." You see, we are still human and will remain so until we quit this earth. Only when we reach eternity will our humanity be transformed so that it will no longer be capable of sinning. In this life, we've got to be patient with ourselves.
All this does not mean that we are ho-hum about sin. We do the best we can, with God's grace, to keep from ever sinning again. We stay away from the occasions of sin. We avoid those situations that cause us to lose control. We squelch our urges to get back at others, to show how smart we are, or to make ourselves look better by making someone else look worse. We keep to the discipline of our lives, even when we don't feel like it. We pray even if we are tired. We forgo the food we ought not eat and are moderate in our diet and dress. We keep from splurging on things we don't need and try to use the money to help our neighbor, even if we don't have an particular concern for him, because we know it's the right thing to do. Much of the spiritual life is doing what's the right thing to do, even if we don't feel like doing it.
The little lamb got into trouble by doing what he felt like instead of what he ought to have done. And he discovered, as we all eventually do, that the green grass on the other side of the fence has got some nettles in it. Trouble is that sometimes it's embarrassing to crawl back under the barbed wire and rejoin the crew that never crossed the boundaries. That's why the Good Shepherd comes looking for us. He makes it easier to come back because He's with us." (emphasis mine)
how will we ever recover....
Here is a fitting quote from Jim Elliot. I don't remember if it is used in the movie or not.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot
Boy, I hate it when you comment on something and afterwards realize that the original post is 7 months old and probably nobody cares anymore, lol.
Post a Comment
<< Home