Walking in the footsteps of Giants

I was about 2 years old when missionaries Ed McCully, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming and Roger Youderian were killed by Waodani tribesmen along the banks of the Curaray River in Ecuador. The international attention that ensued from the murders as well as the heroic and redemptive ministry of Ed's widow, Elisabeth, and Nate's sister, Rachel, among the Waodani may well have been the defining evangelical catalyst of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

"The church was built on the blood of its martyrs." This kind of statement used to be inspiring and revered. In the context of our times, though, it sounds almost morbid. One wonders how Paul would be received in the church today with statements like, "To live is Christ and to die is gain;" or Dietrich Bonhoeffer with his bold statement, "when Christ calls a man he bids him come and die;" or Jesus himself: "He that would find his life must lose it; and he who would lose his life for my sake, the same will find it."

I have a hunch that this kind of reckless abandon for the cause of Christ is more at the heart of worship than the particular style of worship we prefer and draws us closer to the heart of Jesus than most of the things we imagine our God is willing to settle for from us.

I've never been to Ecuador and the possibility that our group would be in personal danger by going is remote to say the least. But I can tell you this...it matters to me that five men gave their lives 51 years ago to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to people who never heard it. And it matters to me that two, perhaps even more courageous women would go back with forgiveness and love into the lion's den to bank their lives on a higher calling. And as I soak in all the wonder and the calamity of Ecuador, I'll be thanking God for real life examples of being sold out for Jesus; and I'll be measuring the limits of myself by the shadows of past Giants!