Losing to save, Giving to get

"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? Luke 9:24-25

Life magazine wrote about their mission and their deaths. Some called them fools, but their courage and martyrdom paved the way for a new wave of missionary work during the second half of the twentieth century.

What gives a man such a sense of purpose that the possibility of death does not dissuade him from his efforts? For Jim Elliot, it was faith and a sense of mission. He studied God's Word, read the writings of people like Hudson Taylor and Amy Carmichael and enthusiastically hung on the words of speakers and preachers at mission conferences. Jim Elliot was a man who caught God's vision for his life.

Jim Elliot (1927-1956) - missionary pilot in Ecuador and husband to Elisabeth, was martyred at the hands of Waorani tribesmen.