No fool….

As fellow Christ followers we grieved as news of the tragic murders by the Taliban of missionaries serving the Afghan people broke this week. Here were people who loved God and loved serving people at the risk of their own lives. These servants of Christ fulfill the words of John 15:13 No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.

As fellow Christ followers we grieved as news of the tragic murders by the Taliban of missionaries serving the Afghan people broke this week. Here were people who loved God and loved serving people at the risk of their own lives. These servants of Christ fulfill the words of John 15:13 No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.

Their sacrificial lifestyle provides us with opportunities to speak of the core result of the gospel, sharing Christ’s love by loving and caring for others just as Jesus laid down His life for us. The team was part of The International Assistance Mission, an international charitable organization serving the people of Afghanistan through Health Care and Economic Development. The group operates two eye care hospitals throughout the country in addition to the eye camp team.

This tragedy reminds me of another group of missionaries martyred on the beaches of Equador in 1956. Jim Eliot and four other young men were killed as well by the very people they had come to serve. As we consider this present tragedy it may be instructive to consider all that has come from what seemed to be their most untimely deaths.

The Aucas, the tribe of the men who killed these missionaries are now followers of Christ and the message of the Gospel and the sacrifice of these young men spurred a mission awareness to an entire generation of young people. Chuck Swindoll was deeply touched by God for service in reading Jim Eliot’s biography, Through Gates of Splendor. Jim’s wife, Elizabeth, has authored many books as well and has ministered to thousands. More recently a movie, End of the Spear, chronicled the life of Nate Saint another of the men on the beach that day.

Jim Eliot’s famous quote still resonates as a challenge to us today, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

This week’s martyrs celebrate their eternal reward in the presence of Christ and their lives challenge us, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, to live out the gospel in personally sacrificial ways. We have yet to see the ripple that will come as an impact of their sacrifice. Additionally, let us remember to pray for God’s comfort and grace to the loved ones left behind until we are reunited around the throne.