He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

The man who said that is Jim Elliot.  He was subsequently martyred at the hands of cannibals in the Ecuadorian Amazon in 1956.  His death, along with the simultaneous death of 4 other men, all of whom were married, sparked a modern mission movement that saw thousands of men and women go to the mission field, including his own wife who returned to the very tribe that had killed her husband and saw them turn to Jesus.

This week at CPx we have a speaker who is incredibly challenging.  He has caused me to reevaluate many things that I often accept as a “rights” without giving much thought to them.  How did he do this?  He casually mentioned that he has had Malaria over 100 times.  You just have to take my word for it that he was not trying to impress us with how holy he is or how much he has sacrificed. He was actually presenting this as if it were no big deal.  His point was that in light of eternity a bit of suffering in this way is quite a small price to pay.

Like me, he believes in healing and has seen God heal many people, but for whatever reason we don’t always experience the future kingdom reality in the now even though we are called and encouraged to pray for it. 10 years ago he went to a doctor who told him that if he took any more Quinine he was in danger of losing his eyesight entirely in both eyes (he already has considerable loss of sight in his left eye).  His response was “ok.”  She went further to try and convince him of the severity of his situation and he again responded with a simple “ok.”  Finally she let him know that medically speaking, considering how much Quinine he has taken, he had no business having any eyesight.  He then said something that shook me to the core and brings tears to my eyes even now….he said to us “If I have to give up an eye in order to see a tribe turn to Jesus, that’s a very good trade-off.”

I may lose some of you at this point, but I want to say that he is ENTIRELY correct!  I mean, that’s not a difficult idea to grant conceptually, but at a more fundamental heart level I absolutely recoil at this notion.  He went even further, but I think I will stop there for now.

So what rights are you willing to lay down in order to see the kingdom of God come?  Are you willing to lay down your right to a career?  What about your right to have plenty of money?  Your right to live in the country you desire?  Getting even more practical (because not everyone is called out of their country!)….what about your right to do what you want with your time today?  Your “right” to be with the people you want? Your right to spend money the way you desire? Etc etc.

My prayer for each of us is this:
“Father, help us to lay down the rights we have unknowingly and illegitimately picked up in order to serve you with our whole hearts and with the entirety of who we are!”

Will you pray that with me….for me?

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