Seventy years ago today, Jim Elliot, along with Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Flemming, and Roger Youderian, were killed as they made contact with the Huaorani—also known as the Auca and the Waorani—tribe in Ecuador. The tribe was notoriously violent, but the men yearned for them to know Jesus. Three years prior to contact with the tribe, Pete Fleming wrote this in his diary:
“Last night with Nate and Cliff, we talked a long time about the Auca problem. It is a grave and solemn one; an unreachable people who murder and kill with a hatred which causes them to mutilate the bodies of their victims. It came to me strongly then that God is leading me to do something about it…I know that this may be the most important decision of my life but I have a quiet peace about it. Strangely enough I do not feel my coming marriage as prohibiting myself from being eligible for this service.“
Seven years prior to his martyrdom, Jim Elliot penned these words in his journal the year that he graduated from Wheaton College: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
These men, along with their wives, knew the risk of their mission, but they lived with a hope that stretched beyond this life and the weight of an eternal despair that awaited those who did not know the saving grace of Jesus.
The group of missionaries made initial contact by dropping gifts from a missionary airplane for months leading up to the personal encounter, and the Aucas had also given gifts via a basket that had been lowered from the plane. This led to the missionaries landing on a sandy shoreline along the Curaray River on January 3rd. Having constructed a tree house, the missionaries finally made contact with the remote tribe on January 6th. They gave gifts to a few of the tribe members, and things were silent until Sunday the 8th.
It was on that day, sometime in the afternoon hours, that a group of Auca tribesmen attacked and killed the five missionaries. Following that terrible day, the men’s wives and young children were left with immense grief and the responsibility to figure out what was next. As many will know, though, the story does not end as a tragedy. Through the Lord’s providence, Jim Elliot’s wife, Elisabeth, would be able to live in the Huaorani village just a few years later, sharing the gospel with some of the very people responsible for her husband’s death. Many would come to know the love of Christ that compelled those young men to risk their lives. The Lord’s providence is a mystery, but we see that he works for the glory of Christ and the good of the nations.
As we live in a culture of relative safety as we live out our faith, let us thank God for that luxury. There are many brothers and sisters who risk their lives daily for the sake of the gospel.
But let the story of those zealous missionaries challenge us to live boldly for the gospel. Jesus tells his followers in Luke 9:23–25, “23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. 25 For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?”
What does it look like for you to live in light of eternity today? For some, it means selling everything and moving a distant land for the sake of the gospel. For some, it means living faithfully in your small hometown as a faithful church member for the sake of the gospel. Wherever the Lord’s providence guides your steps, walk by faith and walk with a purpose: that the nations would worship the triune Lord.
If you want to see a full-length documentary about these men who gave their life for Christ, you watch Beyond the Gates of Splendor for free. (Discretion Advised: Since the film details a remote tribe in the Amazon, you will see people who are far less clothed than we are accustomed to.)
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